The Global Tank Storage Success Stories with Mesa Engineered Tank Products (Mesa ETP)

26/05/2026

By Samantha Davis, Marketing Generalist, Mesa ETP

Mesa Engineered Tank Products (Mesa ETP) was shortlisted in the Environmental Performance and Industry Game-Changer categories at the Global Tank Storage Awards, held during StocExpo in March. The nomination recognised the impact of Mesa ETP’s FlexCore® primary seal solution for floating roof storage tanks.

What was the project about?

Mesa ETP’s FlexCore® primary seal was developed to tackle one of the aboveground storage tank (AST) industry’s biggest ongoing challenges: how to significantly reduce emissions without sacrificing durability, reliability, or operational efficiency.

Traditional mechanical shoe seals often forced operators to compromise between performance, maintenance demands, and long-term compliance. FlexCore® changed this by combining advanced liquid-mounted seal technology with Mesa ETP’s breakthrough Armor Fabric™ – a vapour barrier fabric engineered to be tougher than Kevlar® and highly abrasion resistant. The result was a seal system designed to reduce emissions by up to 70%, streamline installation, minimise maintenance, and deliver dependable long-term performance in demanding tank environments.

What main challenge were you trying to you solve?

Mesa ETP set out to address multiple, interlinked pain points in AST operations:

Achieving substantially lower VOC emissions from floating roof tanks
Maintaining continuous rim contact and seal integrity over decades of service
Reducing maintenance time, complexity, and costs for operators
Ensuring long-term regulatory compliance amid increasingly stringent environmental standards
Improving material performance and compatibility across a wide range of stored products and operating conditions

Before FlexCore®, operators were often forced to choose between legacy seal designs that underperformed on emissions, or alternative solutions that were difficult to install, prone to damage, or costly to maintain. Mesa ETP aimed to deliver a single, engineered solution that addressed all of these issues simultaneously.

What solution did you implement?

Mesa ETP implemented FlexCore® as a fully engineered primary seal solution for floating roof storage tanks, designed from the outset to deliver best-in-class emissions performance, durability, and operational reliability.

Key elements of the solution included:

Advanced liquid-mounted seal technology delivering continuous, more consistent rim contact and significantly lower emissions compared to traditional mechanical shoe seals
Integration of Mesa’s proprietary Armor Fabric™, a high-strength, extremely abrasion-resistant material engineered to outperform legacy seal fabrics in demanding tank environments
Simplified installation methods that reduced downtime and maintenance effort
Newly engineered materials compatible with approximately 95% of standard AST stored products
Seamless integration with existing tank operations to support regulatory compliance, extend asset service life, and reduce long-term maintenance and operational costs

What made this solution different from other options?

FlexCore® stood out by combining emissions performance, durability, and engineered innovation in a single seal system:

It leveraged Mesa ETP’s proprietary Armor Fabric™, which was also nominated for two Global Tank Storage Awards in 2026
The liquid-mounted design provided a more continuous and consistent seal, helping reduce emissions by up to 70% compared to traditional mechanical shoe seals
The system was operator-centric, with:
- Easier, faster installation
- Reduced maintenance demands
- Improved compatibility with a wide range of products
- Long-term reliability and predictable performance

In practice, FlexCore® helped customers meet and exceed evolving environmental standards while lowering operational risk and total cost of ownership over the life of the tank.

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What measurable results did you achieve?

FlexCore® delivered a range of quantifiable performance improvements:

Over 70% emissions reduction compared to mechanical shoe seals
92% more effective at preventing emissions leakage than a legacy Teflon™ primary seal
EPA 40 CFR 60 Kc compliant
Tested to last over 20 years in service
95% compatibility rate with standard AST stored products
PFAS- and PTFE-free design
60% increased tear resistance versus a Teflon™-based primary seal
2600% more abrasion resistant than a legacy Teflon™-based primary seal (independent laboratory ASTM D 3884)

What was the biggest success or highlight of this project?

The biggest success of the FlexCore® project was its ability to help tank operators significantly reduce emissions and virtually eliminate emissions-based product loss, while supporting them in meeting or exceeding regulatory compliance requirements. This balance of environmental performance, asset protection, and operational practicality was central to its recognition at the Global Tank Storage Awards.

Where do you see this technology going next?

Looking beyond its awards recognition at StocExpo, FlexCore® was positioned to continue evolving alongside tightening environmental regulations and rising performance expectations in the global storage tank market. The next phase focused on:

Expanding application versatility across a wider range of tank configurations and operating conditions
Further enhancing material performance and ease of installation
Enabling more data-driven inspection and maintenance insights, helping operators better predict service life, optimise performance, and plan interventions

As emissions standards continue to tighten worldwide, FlexCore® is expected to play an increasingly important role in helping operators stay ahead of compliance requirements while reducing total lifecycle costs and improving overall tank reliability.

Find out more

To learn more about FlexCore® or discuss how Mesa ETP can support your storage tank operations:
Email: info@mesaetp.com
Website: www.MesaETP.com

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