General Silicones responds to surging medical demands

HSINCHU, Taiwan—There are the innovative rapid responders—those companies large and small who have overhauled their production routines to meet pandemic-related needs—and there is General Silicones, whose silicone medical products have been ready for this moment since the company's inception in 1970.

The silicone rubber product manufacturer with plants in Hsinchu; Wujiang, China; and Bac Giang, Vietnam, serves a range of industries, from automotive to packaging to IT, with both silicone and certified silicone products.

But it has been the urgency in the medical market for respiratory assistance equipment, such as breathing mask and ventilator components, that has the Taiwanese company enjoying an unprecedented 65 percent leap in demand from the medical industry in the first half of 2020, a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Obviously, we want to do what we can to help, both from the point of view of a business and also to assist doctors and patients all over the world," said Michael Lin, president and CEO of General Silicones. "We've invested in new manufacturing equipment so we can deliver vital supplies where they are most needed even more quickly."

The surge in orders largely has come from Europe and the U.S., Lin said, the latter of which remains in the throes of the pandemic.

Sales—both general and pandemic-related—are coming through silicone scalpel mats, pin mats, tubing, breathing masks and bags, medical membrane keypads, medical mouse pads, electric knife parts, silicone instrument mats, magnetic (instrument) mats, nebulizer plugs and bacterial petri plates, as well as other medical parts and O-rings.

"Silicone scalpel mats, pin mats and tubing are in regular demand from customers based on their scheduled official orders," Lin said. "These kinds of demands are not really affected by the pandemic and therefore we didn't see an unexpected increase for this group.

"On the other hand, COVID-19 is directly related to and affects the human respiratory system and therefore breathing mask parts and components have seen significant growth."

General Silicones does not provide PPE end products. Rather, the company produces OEM medical-related parts and conducts FDA and other regulatory body certifications. The company has purchased new LSR injection molding machines, equipment that is helping GS ramp up production and accelerate delivery.

"Our demand comes from and is dependent upon our end-customers," Lin said. "Most of the end-use applications are actually components and parts of the respiratory-related equipment and products, as well as the petri dish and vaccine culture-related applications."

While many of the medical customers are in the U.S. and Europe, the parts are produced mainly at the Taiwanese plant.

"We're seeing a drop in pandemic-related items and medical silicone usage, sales and demand in the Chinese market, but an increase in the U.S. and EU areas. Other areas are to be seen," Lin said.

Overall, Lin said the medical industry has been surging in geographic pockets while other segments like automotive and new infrastructure and development projects continue to lag globally. Revenues in China for silicone products continue to fall due to the slowdown in automotive, and Lin said Vietnam continues to see "a steady business growth," with the assumption that this will continue in the latter half of 2020.

"Despite the increase in medical demand, the company wishes to assure all its customers in other industries that GS remains ready to meet their orders for silicone products and raw materials as efficiently as always," the CEO said.

"Generally speaking, in response to the pandemic's influence, the whole GS group has tried their best to adjust the sales structure and focus on high-quality customer service with good profit ... as well as accelerate the marketing activities of new product launches," Lin said. "We firmly believe that 2020 total profit performance will exceed that of 2019, and we keep an optimistic outlook for 2021."

He added it is important for any company to step up during a global health emergency.

"Since the 1960s, silicone rubber has been widely used in the medical industry for diverse applications," he said. "The superior bio-compatible and sustainable properties make it a perfect fit for the medical industry. And it's important because we feel this is our social responsibility, to be involved in the global mission of saving human beings, one world, one crew, as a community.

"We don't know when COVID-19 will be gone. The only thing we can do is to find a way to co-exist with the new coronavirus to provide those medical-related products and assist doctors and patients all over the world."