SILICONE ELASTOMERS MARKET ANALYSIS

The global silicone elastomers market size is projected to cross US$ 9,200 million by 2023, and register a CAGR of 5.6% over the forecast period (2019 -2027).

Market Overview

Silicone elastomers, also known as silicone rubber or silicone based polymers, are offered in various formulations such as solids, open cell foams, thermally conductive materials, closed cell sponges, and electrically conductive materials. Based on their molecular weight and degree of cross linking, silicone elastomers are classed as resins, fluids, or elastomers. Often, fillers are added to silicone elastomers to reinforce their properties and reduce their costs. Silicone elastomers are usually stable, non-reactive, and capable of sustaining severe weather change and temperatures. Owing to these properties, in addition to easy manufacturing and molding, silicone elastomers have quite a lot of commercial and industrial applications such as sealants in the construction industry, shaping, ignition cables, gaskets, hoses, adhesives, utensils, surgical equipment, baby care products, tubing, sterilization equipment, catheters, and other applications in the healthcare sector.

Market Dynamics

Broad application in numerous end use industries such as healthcare, construction, aerospace, aviation, automotive, and consumer goods among others is driving demand for silicone elastomers across the globe. Growth of the automotive sector, increasing awareness of sterlizing surgical equipment, and increasing application in the consumer goods sector is expected to propel growth of the market. Furthermore, growth of the aviation sector in the next few years will result in demand for aerospace applications, which in turn will benefit demand for silicone elastomers. Silicone elastomers have several properties such as resistance to       extreme weather conditions, compression, tear strength, elongation, resistance to fire, thermal conductive, as well as superior tensile strength in certain cases than organic rubbers, make silicone elastomers an ideal choice for some industrial applications. Moreover, owing to its inertness, silicone elastomers can be used in medical settings such as implants. It is also highly suitable for infant care products because of its biocompatibility and hypoallergenic characteristics. Silicon elastomers have high chemical stability which inhibits any chemical reactions between substrates that come in contact with it, such as water, skin, blood, and so on.

However, factors such as fluctuation in cost of raw materials, and stagnant demand for silicone elastomers in developed economies is likely to hamper growth of the global silicone elastomers market.

Market Outlook

Among regions, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America are expected to generate the highest market share in the global silicone elastomers market. Increasing number of electronic and electrical industries, combined with rapid industrialization in emerging economies such as China and India is estimated to favour growth of the market in the region. Moreover, high demand for applications such as sealing, bonding, and insulation from the automotive industry in Asia Pacific will provide growth opportunities to the market. Europe and North America are expected to witness stable demand for silicone elastomers in comparison to demand from countries such as China, Japan and South Korea. Other regions such as Africa and the Middle East will also account for a considerable share in the growth of the market on a global scale.

Key Players

Some of the key players in the global silicone elastomers market include Momentive, Rogers Corporation, Allergan, Reiss Manufacturing Incorporated, Wacker Chemie AG, Arlon Silicone Technologies, Dow Corning, Cabot Corporation, MESGO s.p.A, Sigmasoft Engineering GmbH, Bentec Medical Incorporated, Shin-Etsu Chemical Company Limited, Saint-Gobain, ContiTech AG, AkzoNobel, Marsh Bellofram, and ELMET among others.