Cork

Cork is the bark of the cork oak, a noble tree with very special characteristics, grown in the Mediterranean region, mainly Portugal. It is a suitable product that has minimal impact on the environment.

Cork has a range of beneficial characteristics, including excellent resistance to oil and anti-vibration properties. Cork is also relatively cheap, but highly effective in sealing a wide range of applications, including electrical transformers and switchgear, fuel and oil pumps. Cork is also commonly used as expansion jointing for flooring. As well as providing Cork sheeting and roll material, using our in-house manufacturing facilities, we can produce Cork strips, gaskets and washers for a wide range of applications.

At CB Frost, we can provide Cork material as sheeting or as roll material, depending on your requirements. Rolls are manufactured 1mtr wide x 10/16mtrs long in thicknesses from 1mm to 6mm and available in a range of grades, Cork sheeting can provide a cost effective solution if you are looking to save funds.

Available grades

Our cork products come in a wide range of grades, please do not hesitate to contact our Sales team on 0121 773 8494 if you need advice on the most suitable grade for your application.

CBF-2020 (Nitrile/ Neoprene bonded cork)

This is an excellent general purpose gasketing material, its toughness and good compressibility characteristics make it highly satisfactory in a very wide range of applications. The material has a very low swelling in oils and fuels, which makes it especially suitable for transformer applications.

CBF-2001 (SBR/Nitrile bonded cork)

This is an economical and highly compressible material suitable for low and medium bolt pressure, with good flexibility and resilience. The physical characteristics along with fuel and oil resistance make this a general-purpose gasket material.

Compressed cork (Polyurethane)

This is made from granulated cork which is compressed to form large sheets. Cork sheets can be used for retail displays, pin boards, craft work, model railways or for acoustic insulation.

CBF-2004 (Synthetic Rubber bonded cork)

This is a high compressible material suitable for low and medium bolt pressure, with good flexibility and resilience. The physical characteristics along with oil, water and fuel resistance make this a qualified material for automotive and industrial gaskets. This material is also suitable for vibration control in plant rooms etc.

CBF-2015 (Neoprene bonded cork)

This is a firm Neoprene material suitable for high/medium bolt pressure, with good flexibility and resilience. The physical characteristics along with good fuel, solvent and oil resistance, make this a high qualified material for industrial and transformer gaskets.

For more information or advice

call us today on +44 (0) 121 773 8494

Capabilities

Using our in-house manufacturing facilities, CB Frost can process our different grades of Cork products in to a wide variety of shapes and sizes to suit your requirements.

Cork Gaskets

We can supply Cork gaskets in any shape, be it a simple rectangular, square, or circular design, or a much more complex shape, with holes and cut-outs, radius, and angled corners.

We can produce Cork gaskets in thicknesses ranging from 1mm to 6mm thick, all of which are manufactured on our overhead or swing arm presses.

We cater to supplying both custom one offs and full volume production Cork gaskets. For large volume production requirements, we can supply Cork gaskets kiss-cut on rolls, providing the size and shape of your gasket requirements allow for this. We can supply all Cork gaskets as plain or adhesive backed and have a range of adhesive tapes that can be applied to Cork to suit your requirements.

Cork Sheeting

CB Frost can provide Cork as either plain or adhesive backed sheeting, or converted into strips, gaskets, or washers, using our in-house manufacturing facilities.

Cork sheeting can be supplied in a range of thicknesses and sheet sizes, in roll form, Cork can be supplied between 1mm to 6mm thick. Cork sheet material can be supplied from 2m long x 1m wide. Roll material can be supplied from 10m long x 1m wide, dependent on stock.

We can supply Cork sheeting as plain or adhesive backed and have a range of adhesive tapes that can be applied to Cork to suit your requirements.

Cork Strip

At CB Frost, we cut all Cork strip from roll stock material to ensure a fast turnaround. Providing you require a minimum width of 4mm, we can cut Cork strips in house to your specific width requirements.

We can also supply strips in short or long lengths to suit your requirements. We can supply Cork strip as plain or adhesive backed and have a range of adhesive tapes that can be applied to Cork to suit your requirements.

Cork Washers

Using our extensive in-house manufacturing facilities, CB Frost can supply all sizes of Cork washers. We ensure Cork is kept in stock as a roll material in order to achieve quick turnaround times.

Cork washers can be produced in thicknesses ranging between 1mm and 6mm – we cut washers to size using our overhead or swing arm presses.

We can supply Cork washers as plain or adhesive backed and have a range of adhesive tapes that can be applied to Cork to suit your requirements. We cater for custom one-off requirements, through to full volume production. For larger volume requirements, we can supply washers as individually cut washers or kiss-cut and supplied on rolls.

Want more information on our range of Cork products?

Use the links below to find out more about our different cork products.

The History Of Cork

An Early Beginning

Cork has been used for thousands of years in a wide range of applications and civilisations. It has been found in the tombs dating back to ancient Egypt. Ancient Greeks and Romans also made good use of it, with it being used as floats for fishing nets, sandals, wine bottle stoppers and personal flotation devices for fishermen.

Villagers used it to build their homes, as its insulative properties kept them warm in winter and cool in summer. It is also softer than other wood, which made it ideal for flooring as it was comfortable to walk on and was resistant to attack from insects and other pests.

Progression Of Cork

The Romans liked their comforts and they were the kings of innovation from road building, creating coins to buy things with, aqueducts to transport stuff, and public heated baths to wash in. They were also the first civilisation to use pipe insulation for those that carried hot water by wrapping them in cork.

Some time later, a German company developed a method in 1890 for using waste cork. They discovered that combining it with a binding agent allowed it to be rolled into sheets to be cut into whatever shape was desired. This is called agglomerated or compound cork. By using heat and pressure, John Smith discovered that in order to release the naturally occurring resins, he could create a conglomerate of cork particles that didn’t need any binder.

Cork In Automobiles

In the 1960s, all car gaskets were made out of very thin layers of cork. The idea behind any gasket is to provide a seal between two parts of any motor, engine, or other unit. Cork has interesting properties that makes their gaskets provide this seal in a very unique way. Engines have oil inside of them, and as the oil comes up against the cork gasket, it helps to provide the seal. When you first change a cork gasket, the oil will come through the seal a bit until it finalizes the sealing. The oil finishes up the seal when it is absorbed by the cork as it will cause the cork to stretch and create a perfect seal.

To learn more about the advantages of using Cork material or for further advice, you can call our knowledgeable and experienced team on 0121 773 8494.