I have always thought only one company makes insert flanges, is there a patent or single company rights on this product?

You have probably thought that only one company makes insert flanges, because your particular company only used one supplier. However, there has never been a time in the history of insert flanges, where only one company has sold the product. There were always a few companies actively selling insert flanges on the market. An insert flange is a simple derivative of standard flanges. Therefore, in the same manner that a company cannot go and patent a standard socket weld or slip-on flange, an insert flange is non-patentable. This means that any company with the engineering knowledge and a firm grasp on flanges can manufacture insert flanges. Although insert flanges are stocked at American Insert Flange, they certainly are not a commodity item. You will not find Chinese or Indian imports of this product. This is in part, caused by the extreme nature of customization and detail that must go into manufacturing insert flanges. AIF knows how to stock insert flanges so that we can quickly turnaround your order. For example, we may stock insert flanges for jacketed piping only with a schedule 10 jacket, because we know that we can turn the insert into a schedule 40 jacket with a simple and quick machining operation. American Insert Flange is the new leader in insert flange technology. So if you are one of the companies out there who only buy from one supplier, please try our insert flange product today! We are an American company with “American Pride,” in everything we do.