Isn’t it fun to visit factories where your products are made?

Xiaofeng’s Visit to a Client’s Silicone Factory

Xiaofeng recently visited a silicone factory for a client.

While the finished product is hard yet pliable, at one point in the process it was as “soft as a sponge,” as she put it.

So soft and fun to squeeze that she ended up with a slightly burned finger!

The factory is a cacophony of noises: shutting down furnaces, extracting products, and huge electric fans blowing.

How Silicone Products Are Made

It starts with silicon reacting with methyl chloride, under the watchful eye of a copper catalyst. 

It’s a heated affair, quite literally, with temperatures soaring to 300-400°C.

Through distillation, the essence of dimethyldichlorosilane is captured, only to be transformed into polydimethylsiloxane by the touch of water—a substance at once firm yet yielding.

As Xiaofeng found, amidst the din of machinery, a group of additives—fillers, pigments, and cross-linking agents—harmonize to fine-tune the silicone’s properties.

Each product, be it a sealant or a mold, takes this journey—crafted, cured, and ready for the world.
If you look around I’m sure you can find many silicone products in your home or office that have undergone this very process!

Stay Ahead of the Sourcing Curve

Become a sourcing super hero! Get the latest China sourcing news and tips—handcrafted and delivered to you by our team.

No spam, ever. Our monthly newsletter will share tips on negotiating, increasing quality, best ways to communicate with your suppliers, and many more insights and stories.

👉 Subscribe Now to get “in the know” about what’s happening on the ground in China.