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The 1970s marked a time in history when energy crises shocked the world and major economies stagnated. But, for a young immigrant engineer to Canada by the name of Seraj Huda, it was a time for formulating plans of novel technologies and future industries.

The latter part of that decade saw Huda embark on his first venture — the refinement and commercialization of polysiloxane (silicone) technology with the cooperation of European scientific bodies. Although plans for the erection, in the Middle East, of a pioneering manufacturing facility of polysiloxane finished products were abandoned for political reasons, the technology was further cultivated by Huda and was reborn in Canada as CSL Silicones Inc. in the early ‘80s.

A Technological Coup

The engineers of CSL worked diligently over the ensuing months to develop and perfect the art of polymerizing siloxane monomers. What resulted was a technological coup in the domain of polysiloxane technology. What was once expertise possessed and strictly guarded by giant multinational corporations was now a uniquely and independently developed asset of CSL.

By virtue of its much smaller size compared to its competition, CSL had, and continues to have, the agility to create and produce novel polysiloxane technologies. Over the 10 years following the founding of CSL, the silicone industry has experienced consolidation, which created even greater giants, and left CSL as one of only six companies in the world with basic siloxane technology. In that time, CSL took full advantage of its agility and the changing competitive landscape by researching, developing and introducing technologies to the market, such as self-leveling concrete joint silicone sealants.

Si-COAT® High Performance Coatings are Born

But the greatest of CSL’s R&D achievements to date has been the development of Si-COAT technology. In the late 1980s, CSL introduced the first of its Si-COAT products — the patented Si-COAT 570™ High Voltage Insulator Coating. This flagship Si-COAT product introduced to the market the benefits of outstanding adhesion and electrical characteristics so superior to anything else that it mystified authorities from the USA to Europe to Japan. A further characteristic of this product was its unsurpassed longevity.

Based on such qualities, Si-COAT 570 has been widely adopted by utilities and private companies around the world, and, in its thousands of applications during its greater than 15 year history, has shown zero failures — a claim no other manufacturer can make. Furthermore, Si-COAT 570 has presented its users with unforeseen economic benefits.

The Independence to be Creative

To this day, competitors attempt to mimic the Si-COAT 570 product by introducing ‘2nd generation’ or ‘PLUS’ versions of their products. However, the secret to the success of CSL’s product lies not only in its unique and proprietary formulation, but, more so, in the way that CSL makes its own polymers. CSL is not reliant on others to supply it the polymers it needs to make its products. Therefore, it is able to tailor and refine formulations in ways no other manufacturer can. Competitors, however, can be restricted from this creativity in one of two ways. Those in the silicone industry who can make their own polymers are limited by their giant economies of scale to produce generic polymers that must be used as feedstock for the hundreds of different sealants, rubbers, gums, etc. they manufacture. If a competitor does not have its own polymer manufacturing abilities, it is limited to purchasing the generic polymers available from the larger silicone companies. With its global recognition of superior performance and patent rights, CSL holds a dominant position in the electrical insulator coating field.

From One Great Product Comes Another… and Another

Following the success of Si-COAT 570 coating technology, CSL’s chemists and engineers went back to the drawing board to engineer from the ground up a technology for anti-corrosion coatings. What came out of their work was an advanced understanding of how to overcome the shortcomings of conventional anti-corrosion technology, such as alkyds, urethanes and epoxies. This expertise was incorporated into CSL’s next major foray and resulted in an anti-corrosion product that offers the user economic benefits entirely impossible with conventional coatings. The key aspects of Si-COAT Elastomeric Anti-Corrosion Coatings that yield these economic benefits are its:

• unsurpassed longevity,
• single coat application,
• ease of application, and
• elimination of the need for abrasive blasting of host surfaces.

In most cases, the installed cost of Si-COAT Anti-Corrosion Coatings is approximately 50% of the installed cost of conventional coatings.

Many of CSL’s early business offerings are still a part of its product portfolio. However, it is the field of coatings to which CSL has chosen to dedicate its resources, both to continually improve upon its existing technology and to offer new applications for polysiloxane coatings in the future. CSL’s commitment to technical superiority in leading edge polysiloxane coatings together with a value system rooted in innovation promises to keep it at the leading edge of products with unmatched economics.