Manufacturers of rubber products will be feeling the squeeze as the cost of an important raw material is going up. PPG Industries, citing its own higher raw material expenses plus ballooning energy and transportation costs, is enacting a price increase of up to 20 percent for all its precipitated silica products, including its Hi-Sil silicas and Lo-Vel flatting agents. It takes effect July 1, or as the company’s customer contracts allow. Silica is widely used to make tires. “Due to an unforeseen rise in global demand, PPG continues to experience triple-digit percentage cost increases in sulfuric acid, which is used in the production of our silica products,” says Paula Shepard, PPG’s general manager for silica products. “The magnitude of these increases over a dramatically short period of time, as well as the continued escalation of natural gas and transportation costs, have significantly impacted operating expenses to a level well beyond what can be absorbed internally.” PPG has implemented production efficiency measures and cost-saving initiatives to minimize costs over the years, but these efforts are not enough to offset the more than 200-percent global price increase in sulfuric acid, Shepard explains. “It appears that this inflationary environment will continue for the foreseeable future. This unique situation of historic cost increases requires immediate and swift action to ensure that PPG remains a viable and leading supplier of high-quality precipitated silica products,” she says The amount of each increase will vary by product in accordance with cost inflation factors. The company says it will continue to evaluate raw material and energy costs for silica products on a quarterly basis and adjust pricing as necessary. Pioneering the development of synthetic precipitated silicas, PPG became one of the first manufacturers to bring them to market in the 1930s. The firm provides silica to the battery separator, carrier, coatings, rubber and tire industries. For more information, visit www.ppg.com. | 
