From: David Naylor,
Product Manager, Illbruck

As hundreds of your readers will know all too well, we’re in the middle of the worst silicone shortage in years – and in fenestration, that’s a big problem.

We’re now faced with higher prices, longer lead times - often by weeks, not days - and the dilemma of whether to suck up the punishment and try and wait it out, or think long-term and look for alternatives.

The causes for the shortage are complex. Global silicone demand is at an all-time high. All the world’s major silicone facilities have fallen behind demand and hiked prices as a result. And some key manufacturers have been hit with other problems, like strike action.

Broader political and economic trends are complicating the issue – most notably, the continuing ascendency and industrial dominance of China.

Sixty percent of the world’s silicone now comes from Chinese facilities. Once, if production fell in one part of the world, other regions would have been able to make up the difference. But as more and more of the world’s industrial activity gets concentrated in China, and sharply declines elsewhere, that’s no longer the case.

Now, in other words, we’re so dependent on Chinese production that if it runs into trouble, we’re all in trouble.
So how should window installers respond? They can swallow the price increases and longer lead times, and hope the current crisis is short-lived.

But with the current climate only looking set to continue, and with no sign of large-scale silicone production returning to other parts of the world any time soon, it’s likely that shortages could become a regular occurrence.

Thankfully, for window installers at least, there is an alternative. Very many around the UK have already discovered the benefits of using window installation tape.

In essence, it’s a compressed foam insulating seal. Once you remove the backing paper, the tape steadily expands to effectively seal all gaps and spaces between the frame and wall. Impregnated with a flame-retardant resin, it’s extremely safe, and offers outstanding thermal efficiency, outstanding air-tightness and driving rain resistance of at least 600 PA.

We at illbruck have seen more and more installers ditching the silicone gun in favour of tape. Now, with the global silicone crisis biting hard into both availability and prices, those that have not yet tried it now have one more – very big – reason to give it a try.