Dow Corning responds to rising platinum costs

Platinum metal plays a vital role in the pressure sensitive industry. Of the nearly 30 billion square meters of release liners and films coated globally each year, more than 80% utilize release coatings catalyzed by platinum. In these applications, platinum is absolutely necessary. It can change a coating from a pourable liquid to a hard rubber film in little more than a second. Additionally, liners made with platinum-cured silicone coating require minimal post-cure and exhibit no reversion, which are essential factors, especially for in-line lamination applications.

Unfortunately, the cost of platinum metal, like any commodity, can fluctuate widely on the global commodity exchange. Recently, platinum has spiraled upward at an alarming rate and is not forecasted to decline in the near future. In 1999, the metal traded for about US$360 per troy ounce (approximately 31.10 grams). By May 2006, the price had more than tripled as it reached a historical record US$1,340, rising over 50% in the last year alone.

This trend has very real consequences for the pressure sensitive industry. For example, at US$850 per troy ounce, every 100 ppm (0.1 gram) of platinum metal in a release coating costs US$2.73. At current levels of US$1320, that portion of the release coating manufacturing cost reached US$4.24. This calculation is only raw metal costs; it does not include inventory, packaging, transportation and processing. Read the complete report:

http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/Rising_Platinum_Costs.pdf