Silicone Price Increase! -

Silicone Price Increase

Sadly, by this time, you must have been informed about the continuous price increases to all silica-based building products.

With these price increases drastically effecting all trades that deal with materials that hold some percentage of silicone, it has made the market extremely unstable and caused worry across most contractor’s due increases continuing for the foreseeable future.

Most manufactures vary in their reasons for implementing these increases, however from our research none seem to come to a mutually ground on a main reason for.

With limited information given to trades that work with silicone-based products. We have grafted and dug, to explore all known reasons for these increases of up to 74% since 2017.

Reasons For:

Increases to price for key polymers and raw materials, especially siloxanes and MDI (Main components in Silicones and Polyurethane based products).

Increases to costs for energy, transport and packaging due to the GDP decreasing after Brexit.

Factories that drill the raw materials are increasing their percentage of stock supplied to technology and cosmetic based trades, as they can charge significantly more to these trades, therefore decreasing the amount given to the construction market, which in turn means they can charge more as the material is harder to secure.

Chinese Government has added strict new environmental restrictions on its own manufacturing infrastructure, plants in China that manufacture the fumed Silica, which gives Silicone its body, are closing creating further pressures on supply and costs.

Dow Chemicals, the lead silica plant in the USA, has instigated force majeure on a polymer used in the production of ranges of PVA, Tile Adhesives and Water-based sealants and adhesives.

How are we tackling these increases?

Currently the main manufactures of silicone-based products are heightening their research and testing on non-silicone-based products. Although these products are generally high in price, they are far more stable as the unnecessary need for silica.

A few products are out on the market already, however are limited with their quantity of uses and lack of colour ranges.

Rest assured, we are tackling this issue head on and hopefully in the not so distant future, trades that use silicone-based products will not be bullied into a corner with price increases.