GE expands silicone rubber research unit in Brazil

Itatiba, Brazil - GE Advanced Materials, Silicones has announced the expansion of existing facilities at its Itatiba plant in Brazil for the development and production of silicone rubber products.

The company did not give any further details of the expansion.

Until now, said GE, manufacturing of custom silicone rubber products for the Latin American market has been performed at GE's US facilities. Moving production and development to Itatiba will make it possible for GE and its customers to eliminate the time and expense of importing and exporting materials between the US and countries in Latin America.

The Itatiba facility will be focused on producing materials for automotive gaskets and O-rings, high voltage insulators for the power transmission industry and products for the health care industry.

The GE Silicones Itatiba facility is currently delivering custom silicones products for companies in Brazil and will soon be delivering products for companies in Chile and Colombia. The company is targeting the Argentinean and Venezuelan markets for later this year

"With the growth of demand for our specialised silicone rubber products in Latin America, we realised the time was right to invest in capabilities that could help customers in the region better leverage GE's custom application development and production expertise," said Tim Angle, America's marketing and application development manager for RTVs and Elastomers, GE - Advanced Materials. "The silicones development and production facility in Itatiba will strengthen our ability to rapidly create and deliver silicone rubber compounds that meet the specific requirements of companies in Latin America."

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Press releasefrom GE Silicones