On November 23, Elkem Silicones Xinghuo (ESX) witnessed the first successful test production of its MS resin, making the company the world’s third after Wacker Chemie AG and Momentive, and China's first, manufacturer to produce MS resin with independent intellectual property rights. This move not only fills in the gap in China, but also highlights the leading role of ESX in the industry and further consolidates its dominant position in the building sector. Meanwhile, this breakthrough lays a solid foundation for expanding new areas such as industrial adhesives.
MS resin, also known as silane-modified polyether resin, is an important base material for the preparation of MS sealant. It accounts for over 80% in the sealant production cost. The MS resin synthesis technology has been well-developed in international companies, and MS sealant has reached a market share of more than 30% in Europe, Americas and Japan. Especially in Japan, MS sealant has reached a market share of more than 50%, exceeding that of silicone sealant and polyurethane sealant combined, and the market share is on the rise in recent years. In China, the market share of MS sealant is only 2%. The main reason is that the industry in China is less developed in terms of MS resin synthesis, sealant preparation and research on engineering application technology, especially in the field of MS resin synthesis. MS resin used in China is largely dependent on imports. In such a context, ESX has made a breakthrough.
ESX launched three brands of MS resin products with high, medium and low modulus and different activities, making its MS sealant possess different strengths and elongations at break. Besides, the products contain no isocyanate, are stable for storage, and are eco-friendly and low in VOC. The assembly sealant for building and industrial use prepared with this application has the advantages of both silicone sealant and polyurethane sealant. It features excellent weather resistance and durability, high resistance to deformation, good cohesiveness, coating property and environmental friendliness, stress relaxation, low pollution and good workability. In addition to the building industry, it can also be widely used in industrial areas, such as automobile manufacturing, rail transportation, container manufacturing, equipment manufacturing and electronic electrical industry.
As the world's leading silicone manufacturer, ESX has always adhered to practicing the development concept of Bluestar that human effort can achieve everything and the core values of ESX, including respect, participation, accuracy and continuous improvement. As the pursuit of "innovation" calls for more managers and employees to charge forward, ESX is also creating its "new business card".