On the platform of Alibaba.com, a silicone sheet produced in Dongguan has gained favor from international buyers, showcasing the strong capabilities of “Dongguan manufacturing” with million-dollar orders. In the busy workshops of Huangjiang Town in Dongguan, large blue and white silicone rubber and plastic machines are being prepared for shipment to Türkiye, Russia, and Indonesia. In the organic silicon laboratory, researchers are conducting flame retardant tests on silicone for Tesla’s electric vehicle cables, racing against time to gain a foothold in the new energy sector.
Recently, during visits to several companies of Dongguan’s silicone industry, journalists discovered that silicone, as an important industrial raw material, had once thrived alongside the booming Dongguan manufacturing industry. Now, Dongguan’s organic silicon enterprises are accelerating technological innovation, switching tracks, and seeking overseas markets. They are embracing the wave of new energy, focusing on transformation and promoting development, embarking on a path of high-quality renewal and progress.
Whipping up an order “hurricane”: Organic silicon is approaching its breakout point
“Since the beginning of the year, order demand has remained strong. All 200 machines on the production line are operating at full capacity, and orders are scheduled through September,” said Guo Nan, General Manager of Keshen Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Keshen Intelligent”). Keshen Intelligent is a manufacturer of silicone rubber machinery and equipment located in Huangjiang Town, Dongguan, with an annual production capacity of over 2,000 units.
On Alibaba’s international platform, Dongguan Visai Industrial Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Visai Industrial”) saw a trade export growth of over 1.8 million yuan in the first quarter. There was significant growth in foamed silicone products, with a shipment volume of two containers. The first quarter sales increased by 6.8% compared to previous years, with the growth mainly reflected in export trade and electronic consumer product accessories.
“The characteristic of orders in the electronic consumer goods business is that they involve numerous codes, urgent timelines, and large quantities. When multiple customers need to ship at the same time, it causes a shortage of personnel. During that period, to ensure delivery, all employees worked overtime to meet the demand,” explained Ma Chao, General Manager of Visai Industrial Co., Ltd., to the reporter.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, in terms of export volume, the export volume of silicone in April 2024 was 45,698 tons, an increase of 47.97% year-on-year. In terms of export average price, the average export price in April 2024 was $2,678 per ton, an increase of 18.5% year-on-year.
From January to April 2024, the cumulative export volume of polysiloxane in its primary form was 167,700 tons, an increase of 27.91% year-on-year. The rebound in overseas demand for silicone has also strongly supported the overall rise in China’s silicone market in the first half of 2024.
“The surge in orders in the industry can be considered somewhat unexpected, but it’s not an isolated case. China has become the world’s largest producer of silicone, and the price advantage is a key competitive factor in attracting orders,” explained Zeng Jianxia, General Manager of Silicone Mall, to the reporter. Zeng Jianxia has been deeply involved in the silicone rubber industry for several years, and her “Silicone Mall” is a new media information platform with over 100,000 industry followers.
Zeng Jianxia also added that silicone, which was once too expensive to be widely used as a new material, is now more affordable due to the rapid expansion in the upstream industry over the past two years. Under competitive pressure, most silicone enterprises have chosen to undergo industrial transformation and upgrading. The low prices and technological innovations of new materials will provide higher added value to products across various industries. Therefore, despite the intense competition and overall economic difficulties in the market, the demand for silicone is expected to continue to surge in the future.
Dr. Zhu Guiyou from Guangdong University of Technology believes that the surge in orders reflects new trends in the industry’s niche sectors. The silicone industry has reached a point of saturation, and low-cost, low-tech, and low-threshold product projects will inevitably face issues of replacement and upgrading. The industry’s development will gradually show a trend of polarization. Research-oriented enterprises in innovative niche fields will experience a boom in business, while companies that have long focused on low-end business will find it challenging to achieve a surge in orders.
Seizing the new energy track to expand into new industrial blue oceans
Silicone products are commonly seen in everyday life, pacifiers, heat-resistant gloves, pet mats, remote control buttons... Silicone is a transparent or milky white material that is insoluble in water and any solvent. Due to its non-toxic, environmentally friendly, wear-resistant properties, and suitability for medical and food-grade applications, silicone is widely used in baby products, kitchenware, and electronics.
Thanks to its unique physical and chemical properties, silicone can withstand extreme temperature changes, remaining stable over a range of -50°C to 250°C. Its excellent waterproof, moisture-proof, flame-retardant, and electrical insulation properties make it particularly suitable for applications in new energy vehicles.
“Silicone has a very wide range of applications, especially with the rapid growth of industries such as automotive, electronics, and new energy. In the first quarter, global sales of new energy vehicles reached 2.85 million units, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%. Companies like Langsheng Materials and Wise Industrial have been focusing on these fields for many years, and the surge in end-user demand has driven their order growth,” said Zeng Jianxia.
With the rise of emerging fields such as new energy vehicles, wearable devices, and smart homes, liquid silicone is becoming the ideal choice for these sectors. In new energy applications, silicone composite materials are essential for battery encapsulation, shock absorption, insulation, and interior decoration. “The power batteries of new energy vehicles use flame-retardant potting adhesives. Automotive connectors and cable harnesses require hose sheathing and harness wrapping materials. The interior and exterior systems of cars use leather protective gear. A series of silicone products provide crucial support to the new energy vehicle industry in the Greater Bay Area,” added Zeng Jianxia.
The new energy vehicle industry has extremely high safety performance requirements for flame-retardant materials. Dongguan’s silicone enterprises have been focusing on developing high-performance products such as potting silicone rubber and fire-resistant ceramic silicone rubber to provide the market with safer and more reliable options. “We once received an order for a high-voltage cable inside a Tesla vehicle. Tesla has very high requirements for the oil resistance, flame retardancy, and high-temperature endurance of silicone rubber. Our research team conducted numerous experiments to improve the processing performance of silicone rubber, and ultimately, we successfully overcame this challenge,” said Tan Zhengxin, General Manager of Dongguan LongSun Material Technology Co., Ltd.
Furthermore, Dongguan’s relevant enterprises are vigorously promoting silicone leather in the leather market centered around Houjie Hetian Market. This leather, made from liquid silicone rubber, is widely used in new energy vehicle seat covers, mobile phone back panels, and is circulated in the mainstream materials market of the leather industry.
“Dongguan, as China’s manufacturing capital, fully leverages the local mold and electronics manufacturing industry cluster advantages, providing a vast development space for many silicone enterprises. With the rapid development of industries such as new energy vehicles and smartphones, the demand for high-performance materials will continue to grow. Dongguan’s silicone enterprises are expected to occupy an increasingly important position in the future market,” responded Zeng Jianxia.
Tackling “stranglehold” challenges: Showcasing new breakthroughs in domestic materials
As the call for the silicone industry elimination race sounds, “domestic substitution” remains a persistent and challenging issue for the industry.
Take Apple’s iWatch strap, for example. The fluororubber silicone used in the strap is currently difficult for domestic enterprises to produce, with the synthetic technology still relying on imported materials from abroad. If foreign imports are restricted, it would face a severe “stranglehold” problem.
Zhu Guiyou believes that Dongguan’s silicone enterprises excel more in formulation technology rather than the silicone manufacturing technology itself. Leading silicone companies’ products are mostly used in the new energy field. New energy companies have stringent requirements for material selection, generally using high-end raw materials from companies like Dow Chemical, Korea’s Corning, Japan’s Shin-Etsu, and Germany’s Wacker. “Product structure determines product performance. To achieve high-performance products, it is necessary to synthesize the polymer structure independently. Currently, the domestic high-end silicone synthesis technology lags behind that of foreign countries by 20 years, and there is always the issue of being ‘strangled.’”
Breaking through the “stranglehold” problem and addressing disruptive technology development issues, Dongguan enterprises are continuously expanding the high-end application fields of silicone rubber. As “domestic materials must be strong” transitions from a slogan to reality, the determination to “dare to tackle tough challenges and venture into risky areas” becomes a true reflection of Dongguan's silicone enterprises.
“Spreading out five fingers is not as powerful as clenching a fist” is Tan Zhengxin’s mantra and also the strategic choice of Lan Materials. For decades, LongSun Material has been deeply involved in new material fields such as insulation, fire resistance, and environmentally friendly polymers. They have perfected ceramic fire-resistant silicone rubber, becoming a leader in the fire-resistant cable market and being selected as a “Little Giant” specialized and new enterprise in 2023.
Adhering to the strategic model of “developing one generation, reserving one generation, and selling one generation,” LongSun Material has developed two new products: silicone rubber thermoplastic elastomers and liquid silicone rubber leather.
Among these, silicone rubber thermoplastic elastomers can be applied to fields such as wearable technology and 3C electronic products, including charging cables and smartwatch straps. Liquid silicone rubber leather, due to its flexibility, breathability, good weather resistance, odorless, and environmental friendliness, has the potential to replace genuine leather and PU leather materials, offering a very broad market application prospect.
In creating an innovative ecosystem that integrates industry, academia, and research, LongSun Material continuously strengthens its cooperation and exchanges with research institutes and universities. They have established a joint development platform with a research team from Zhejiang University of Technology and hired experts and professors as technical advisors. Currently, LongSun Material has 12 R&D personnel, holds 8 product invention patents, 5 utility model patents, and has 13 invention patents under substantive examination. Additionally, LongSun Material plans to establish the Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center to accelerate the pace of technological self-reliance and address the “stranglehold” problems posed by foreign dependencies.
Riding the waves for overseas expansion: Lighting up Dongguan enterprises’ new global map
A ccording to data published by Global Market Insights, the global silicone market size reached $33.7 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.8% from 2016 to 2023.
From the global silicone capacity distribution map released by the China Fluorosilicone Organic Materials Industry Association, Chinese factories account for 59.3% of the capacity. Dongguan, as an important base for the silicone industry, makes a significant contribution to the market size.
Benefiting from the expanding range of silicone applications and the enormous demand potential from emerging markets, Dongguan’s silicone industry is now “chasing the wind and the sun” overseas. Dongguan's upstream and downstream silicone enterprises quickly capture global market demand trends, improve product quality and technical levels, and actively integrate into the global supply chain system, becoming an indispensable part of it.
To open up overseas markets, Visai Industrial has established international trade channels on platforms such as Alibaba International Station, Google independent site, TikTok, and Temu.
“In the first quarter, trade exports on Alibaba International Station grew by over 1.8 million yuan, with two containers of foamed silicone shipped, showing significant overall growth. All employees worked overtime to meet the demand,” Ma Chao of Visai Industrial explained to the reporter.
“Our team plans to expand into emerging markets such as Brazil and Indonesia next, actively seeking local partners. We hope our silicone products can reach a broader international stage and achieve global development,” said Pan Peiyi, Foreign Trade Manager of Keshen Intelligent.
Zhu Guiyou believes that some domestic silicone companies can seek opportunities to expand overseas by entering the Southeast Asian market, taking domestic raw materials and technology to establish factories abroad. Every market needs cultivation, and by nurturing the silicone consumption habits of foreign consumers, it is possible to open up vast new overseas markets.
Zeng Jianxia thinks that the new energy storage industry is a technology-intensive industry that also involves multiple fields such as energy storage power stations and distributed energy systems. She suggests that companies should strengthen research and innovation, launching more high-performance, high-value-added products to meet the needs of the new energy storage industry, thereby spreading Dongguan-made silicone products across the global map.
Written by Guan Xiaoqun; Photos by Chen Dong; Edited by Fu Deming
