FlangeLock LLC, founded and based in Greenwich, Conn., received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office within the past two months for its contamination control tool, the FlangeLock.

The FlangeLock tool is an easy-to-use cap that slides onto the fitting and is sealed with one turn of the bottom plug, keeping oil in and contaminants out.

It is produced in sizes for 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24 and 32 in codes 61, 62 and KAT-style hydraulic flanges.

The FlangeLock is manufactured in Connecticut with lightweight anondized aluminum. The FlangeLock is color-coded for easy-to-identify sizes.

“The FlangeLock represents major savings in a number of areas,” Mike Pearl, part owner of FlangeLock LLC, said. “It will save time because there won’t be any oil leaking and having to be cleaned up. It will save money because again, with no leaks, no oil is wasted. And a really big savings will be with EPA cleanups. The EPA is looking at a lot of equipment right now and a lot of companies are being temporarily shut down in order to get things cleaned up. The FlangeLock will cut way down on that lost time and money.”

Equipment owners seeking to stop oil leaks are not the only ones who benefit from the FlangeLock. Pearl foresees the factories where the equipment is manufactured being able to use the FlangeLock during the assembly process to keep contaminants from entering the lines and, if a customer desires, selling them on the equipment.

As well, “hoses get cleaned and capped when you buy them,” Pearl said, “but there’s nothing to keep the caps on. A customer buys some hoses, tosses them into the back of a truck, the caps come off and those new hoses are already contaminated. The contaminants get into the machine, and there’s a problem. We have the solution.”

Since the FlangeLock’s inception in 2009, the company’s dealership network has substantially grown. Initially the product was distributed only through www.flangelock.com and HO Penn, headquartered in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Today, the FlangeLock can be found across the United States and Canada through such dealers as Cleveland Brothers, based in Harrisburg, Pa.; Edward Ehrbar Inc., Yonkers, N.Y.; SunSource, with many branches throughout the United States; Genesis Attachments; Jewell Attachments; Finning CAT of Canada; HosePower USA, with branches across the United States; Dakota Fluid Power, with branches in the Dakotas and Nebraska; Progressive Hydraulics, with branches in New Jersey and New York State; and many more.

And with the FlangeLock’s ever-growing distributorship, Pearl said he’s hoping to approach selling 10,000 pieces sold by the end of 2011, as well as continuing to expand with additional distributorships.

For more information call Mike Pearl at 914/980-8890, or visit flangelock.com.

(This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG

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