In the last year, the business has experienced more difficulties than I’ve come across around my thirty years experience. In the past I have seen sharp price increases, and I have seen several shortages, and delivery delays due to plastic resin allocations from resin suppliers. This is the very first time I have seen all these issues at one time.
PTFE Rod (TFE) and Kynar – PVDF are both on allocation.
This pair of resins are in short supply. The PTFE Sheet product PTFE (TFE) along with Kynar-PVDF manufacturing requires a mineral called Fluorspar which is mined in Mongolia and China. The world requirement for this mineral has risen significantly, as well as supply has tightened. PTFE materials have high temperature resistance, excellent chemical resistance and incredibly low co-efficient of friction (slick) and is utilized in a lot of applications from non-stick fry griddles to ptfe tape for home use. This particular mineral is the important raw material in the manufacturing of fluoropolymers, fluorolubricants and a lot of refrigerants.This escalating demand mixed with general shortage of raw materials is mainly responsible for a dramatic price increase (almost double within the past year), shortages, and we expect both these factors to continue in the near future.
