Good to know

Rubber has become an indispensable part of the modern world. Wherever machines or engines have to be provided with bearings, forces transferred, liquids transported, rotating shafts or containers sealed, there’s no getting around this material. However, today’s high-performance elastomers have little in common with the materials obtained from natural rubber.

The technology and the requirements that rubber has to satisfy have been revolutionized since the early days when the first coats, boots, inkpots and even combs were made on a basis of natural rubber. Higher application temperatures, faster machines and ever more stringent demands on energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness are compelling engineers to opt increasingly for special grades.

In 2007, some 13.6 million metric tons of synthetic rubber were used worldwide, compared to around “only” 9.7 million metric tons of natural rubber. Experts expect that the share of synthetic rubbers will continue to grow faster than natural rubber as a result of its properties. Synthetic rubber is used today as the basis for a wide range of high-performance rubber products and it will continue to be used to unlock the potential of new opportunities and applications in the future.