Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) is a type of elastomer with better electrical properties, flame retardancy and chemical stability, and high heat and cold resistivity. These elastomers are used for the production of high quality parts and devices in automotive, medical devices, electrical and electronics, consumer products and others. LSR has properties of organic as well as inorganic materials. Additionally, LSR offers various advantages over organic rubbers. It has the ability to withstand very high and low temperatures, which makes it better than organic rubber. As compared to other organic rubbers, LSR is more preferred in the manufacturing of automotive, electrical and electronics parts and devices, which need to withstand very high and very low temperature environments.
The global Liquid Silicone Rubber market is expected to witness considerable growth during the forecast period (2016-2022). The growth in the global market is being driven by factors such as increasing demand from electrical and electronics, and medical devices industry. The technological advancements and rapid industrialization in emerging economies and shifting global interest towards establishing the manufacturing industry in developing economies are the factors expected to create ample revenue generation opportunities for the global LSR market; however, stringent regulatory requirements for LSR usage in medical implants and devices worldwide are expected to negatively impact the growth of the global LSR market.
The global liquid silicone rubber market has been categorized on the basis of LSR grade and application. On the basis of grade, the global market has been segmented into industrial grade, medical grade and food grade. Based on application, the global market has been segmented into automotive, medical, electrical and electronics, consumer goods, and others. The global medical grade LSR market is expected to witness the highest growth, during the forecast period. Increasing adoption of LSR for manufacturing medical devices and implants is the key growth driver for the global medical grade LSR market. Cleaning and disinfection of medical devices could be performed with high temperature, UV radiation or chemicals, which could deteriorate the properties of medical devices and negatively impact the life of medical devices. Therefore, medical grade LSR is increasingly being adopted for medical applications, as these elastomers have high chemical stability and are capable of withstanding very high and low temperatures.
Geographically, North America led the global LSR market in 2015, due to the technological advancements in the region and high demand for high quality products in medical, automotive, electrical and electronics industry. The U.S. contributed the largest revenue to the North American and the global LSR market. The country is expected to remain the largest market for LSR, globally, during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific LSR market is expected to witness the highest growth, during the forecast period, which can be attributed to increasing compliance with high grade industrial devices and products, and improving manufacturing infrastructure, research and development activities and improving distribution network in the emerging economies of the region.
Some of the key players in the global liquid silicone rubber market are Dow Chemical Company, Wacker Chemie AG, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., China National Bluestar (Group) Co. Ltd., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Simtec Silicone Parts, LLC and KCC Corporation.
Global Liquid Silicone Rubber Market Segmentation
By Grade
By Application
- Automotive
- Medical
- Electrical & electronics
- Consumer goods
- Others
By Geography
- North America
- The U.S.
- Canada
- Rest of North America
- Europe
- The U.K.
- Italy
- France
- Germany
- Russia
- Spain
- Rest of Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- China
- Japan
- India
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Rest of APAC
- South America
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Rest of South America
- Middle East & Africa
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- Egypt
- Rest of Middle East & Africa
