Synthetic Polyisoprene Rubber Market - Rising on the Back of Increasing Latex Allergy Incidences

Key Factors Shaping the Synthetic Polyisoprene Rubber Market

Emergence of Innovative, High Quality, and Cost-effective Products due to Robust Competition

Employers are focusing on providing improved protection against several encountered risks at the workplace. This has led to the development of new manufacturing technologies and materials. New materials with high flexibility and sensitivity of fit are being developed by manufacturers in the market.

In the recent past, the market for industrial gloves has witnessed the introduction of several high technology innovative products that comply with the industry standards. These high quality cost-effective industrial gloves are expected to propel the growth of the synthetic polyisoprene rubber market over the forecast period.

Presence in several regional players in South Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, makes industrial glove, a prominent product among personal protection equipment. Additionally, the presence of natural rubber is predominant in the APAC region, which also makes this market attractive for rubber manufacturers in this region.

High Demand Witnessed in the Medical Sector

Surgical gloves are more often manufactured from natural rubber latex. Owing to the increasing concern towards patient safety, several hospitals are preferring alternative material for natural rubber such as polychloroprene and polyisoprene to ensure patients from the risk of allergy.

Replacement of natural rubber gloves with high quality isoprene rubber gloves has also added to the comfort and protection. Synthetic polyisoprene rubber have beneficial features, including narrow molecular weight, low impurity level, and intrinsically no gel content.

Increasing adoption of synthetic rubber gloves in the healthcare industry is estimated to significantly contribute to the global synthetic polyisoprene rubber market during the forecast period.

Increasing Frequency of Innovative Launches

Increasing emphasis of manufacturers on introducing innovative material solutions is projected to assist the market growth in the near future. The compelling demand for non-conventional materials for better operations is directing manufacturers’ focus on R&D for effective materials with advanced technical characteristics.

While newly developed products are supposed to replace and overcome the shortcomings of conventional rubber products in medical and industrial applications, it is highly likely that the sales of synthetic polyisoprene rubber will be on the rise.

High Consumption by Healthcare Industry and Consumer Goods in Developing Regions

The growth of medical and healthcare industries within developing regional markets, in addition to the thriving consumer goods & retail industry, is highly likely to push the consumption of synthetic polyisoprene rubber for a sweeping range of applications, including medical gloves.

However, vulnerability of synthetic polyisoprene rubber to the pricing uncertainty of petrochemicals and new automation technologies in the healthcare sector might remain a pervasive stumbling block to the rapid progress of synthetic polyisoprene rubber market through the next decade.

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Synthetic Polyisoprene Rubber Market Structure Analysis

• The global synthetic polyisoprene rubber market represents a fairly consolidated competition landscape, where a majority of key players maintain their strategic focus on the development of solid distribution partnerships and joint ventures, targeting a firmer global footprint.
• The synthetic polyisoprene rubber market has been relatively moderate in size, which remains a key factor for its dynamic competitive nature.
• Prominent manufacturers of synthetic polyisoprene rubber are currently prioritizing R&D and new product launches to resonate with the booming consumption of synthetic polyisoprene rubber consumption in Asia.
• Portfolio extension is also identified to remain as one of the key developmental strategies adopted by manufacturers of synthetic polyisoprene rubber.
• For a stronger foothold in target markets, synthetic polyisoprene rubber manufacturers will continue to rely on organic strategies, such as expansions and new product launches.
• Profound understanding of the market trends and preferential shifts of end-use segments across several regions are likely to create a bottleneck for prominent players, looking forward to untapped opportunities in the synthetic polyisoprene rubber market.

Synthetic Polyisoprene Rubber - Towards Replacing Natural Rubber

Since the dawning of the new era of fully synthetic materials, the advances have been unparalleled in the history of materials. Chemists have been discovering new catalysts and developing new synthetic routes to join small molecules to long polymer chains with right properties for a specific use – synthetic polyisoprene rubber used in gloves, rubber bands, and baby bottle holders and nipples for example.

While modern synthetic rubber, particularly for non-tire applications, is designed to be similar to natural rubber in terms of structure and properties, the former is deemed to have minimal lot-to-lot variance in physical properties and lower level of non-polymer constituents.

Synthetic polyisoprene, manufactured to a high degree of stereoregularity, has been a key polymer for the rubber industry over the last decade, and the ease of processability of this polymer has gained significant importance where consistency and quality are major considerations. With the advancements in polymer science, synthetic polyisoprene rubber became more versatile and resilient with good resistance to changes in the surroundings, gaining multiple applications across various industry verticals.

Evolving Industrial Trends to Reflect Promising Prospects for the Market

Influential global trends are changing the way businesses run and consumers live; the widespread of digital technologies; the growing challenges to globalization; the sweeping rate of urbanization; and the rapid revolution of industries are bringing unprecedented transformation in businesses, the economy, and society. To that end, the rubber industry in general, and synthetic polyisoprene rubber market in particular, have been witnessing a major facelift with the adoption of new processing technologies and a host of innovative products.

An exponential rise in construction activities has potentially raised the demand for adhesives made of synthetic polyisoprene rubber, while increasing cases of latex allergies have brought more focus on cost-effective yet highly efficient alternatives, such as synthetic polyisoprene rubber, in medical glove production.

As industrial policies focus on value-added facilities for workforce and towards more enhanced products, the result is likely to lead to increasing demand for synthetic polyisoprene rubber. For instance, growing adoption of industrial gloves for labor workforce, particularly in mining, construction, oil & gas, and chemical industries, as a critical requirement, has been parallel to the rising demand for synthetic polyisoprene rubber.

Further, consumer trends will offer new opportunities; growing awareness of safe intercourse and prevention of unintended pregnancy among consumers has increased the adoption of condoms, thereby potentially raising the demand for innovative materials such as synthetic polyisoprene rubber.

East Asia Market Prepares to Take the Center Stage in Synthetic Polyisoprene Rubber Market

The demand for synthetic polyisoprene rubber is based on its use as a direct replacement for natural rubber, which exhibits greater compatibility, require lesser mechanical work, and has significantly faster extrusion rates. European market for synthetic polyisoprene rubber is currently neck-and-neck with the East Asian market to acquire the leading position.

The future of the synthetic polyisoprene market is promising in East Asia, owing to increasing construction and infrastructure activities along with the shift of production facilities in the region by major companies, in the view of low labor and operating costs. As compared to East Asia, the synthetic polyisoprene rubber market in Europe is likely to contract marginally in the years ahead.

Incisive Outlook on Market Trends and Future Opportunities

The impact of newer industrial trends such as ‘customization’ has been recently noticeable in synthetic polyisoprene rubber market. Industrial gloves manufacturers have been on the journey of exploration to provide customized solutions for different verticals, resulting into the introduction of synthetic polyisoprene rubber in their products to offer exceptional properties.

However, the constant increase in rubber waste going into landfills has become a major environmental problem in countries around the world. Consequently, the synthetic polyisoprene market is likely to remain challenged by increasing environmental regulations which are forcing manufacturers as well as consumers to shift towards sustainable and natural products.

As sustainability is foremost in the minds of today’s manufacturers and consumers, an embrace of R&D has been underway in the synthetic polyisoprene rubber market. These factors have played a significant role in Japanese chemical company Zeon Corp.’s decision to develop a new technology to synthesize isoprene – a raw material used to produce synthetic polyisoprene rubber – from biomass, in joint research with Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd and the Japanese research institute, RIKEN.

How Growth Will Unfold?

As several end-use industries are putting emphasis on introducing innovative material solutions for better performance of their products, it is highly likely that the sales of synthetic polyisoprene rubber will continue to be on the rise. The growing preference for alternative materials to natural or latex rubber, especially for medical gloves to prevent the risk of latex allergy during patient examination and surgical intervention, has been significantly influencing synthetic polyisoprene rubber manufacturers’ growth strategies.

However, rising use of advanced technologies in medical space, including robots to perform a wide range of surgeries, may result into descending demand for synthetic polyisoprene rubber. A focus on identifying and leveraging white spaces in the application of synthetic polyisoprene rubber, while replacing and overcoming the shortcomings of conventional rubber products will remain a key to gaining distinct competitive edge.

Key Segment

By Applications

• Medical Gloves
• Condoms
• Medical Balloons
• Catheters 
• Adhesives

By End Use

• Medical
• Consumer Goods
• Industrial

By Regions

• North America
• Latin America
• Europe
• South Asia 
• East Asia
• Middle East & Africa
• Oceania