DOW CORNING AND WACKER CELEBRATE THE GROUNDBREAKING OF NEW SILOXANE FACILITY IN CHINA
Construction of China’s largest siloxane facility
officially began following the groundbreaking ceremony today at
the site in Zhangjiagang, China. Representatives from Dow Corning
Corporation (Midland, Michigan, USA) and Wacker Chemie AG
(Munich, Germany) celebrated this milestone with their
manufacturing joint venture company, Dow Corning
(Zhangjiagang) Co, Ltd. This world-class scale siloxane manufacturing facility will be
located in the Jiangsu Yangtze River Chemical Industrial Park,
Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province. Also included in the joint
venture project is a fumed silica plant, which together will
support the vigorous growth and demand for silicone materials of
both the Chinese and Asian markets. The integrated site in
Zhangjiagang will also house other facilities owned and operated
separately by Dow Corning and WACKER for the manufacture of
silicone finished products.
Capacities for
siloxane and fumed silica together are planned to be
approximately 200,000 metric tons per year. It is expected that
full operational capacity will be phased in by the end of the
decade. The fumed silica plant is expected to start production by
the end of 2007. Total investment for the joint venture projects
is estimated to exceed 600 million U.S. dollars in the coming
years.
Dr. Stephanie
Burns, Chairman, President & CEO of Dow Corning Corporation,
and Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker, President & CEO of WACKER
Group were onsite today to inaugurate the new facility along with
Mr. Huang Qin, Party Secretary of the Zhangjiagang City and Mr.
Tan Zhu Zhou, Honorary Chairman of the China Petroleum and
Chemical Industry Association. The ceremony was attended by more
than 300 guests including key executives from WACKER, Dow Corning
and government officials from Beijing, Zhangjiagang and Jiangsu
province, consultants and business partners, as well as
representatives from companies operating in the chemical park.
In a joint
statement, Dr. Burns and Dr. Wacker emphasized the strategic
importance of the new joint venture projects: “The China silicone market has
great potential to grow rapidly as it moves toward a mature
international market. It is our goal to leverage the cost and
quality advantages of an integrated site to support the
development of a world class silicone industry in China and to
benefit our respective customers.”
Dow Corning and
WACKER each have had a long presence in the Chinese market and
are strongly committed to the long-term development and
leadership in production in China.
Mr. Huang Qin,
Party Secretary of the Zhangjiagang City, said in his
congratulatory speech, “We are very grateful to see global
companies such as Dow Corning and WACKER decide to increase their
investment in China. Zhangjiagang is very pleased to have this
opportunity to host this world-class silicone manufacturing
facility to bring further economic and social development to the
local community.”
The joint venture
facilities to produce siloxanes and fumed silica will bring in
state-of-the-art process and technology and set a high standard
for the silicone industry in China. This includes large scale
reactor technology, advanced processes for raw material
efficiency, a highly energy efficient design and environmental
controls techno-logy. These technologies have been in use in
similar manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Europe, and proven
to produce high yield and quality output in an environmentally
friendly way. The plant will source raw materials locally where
appropriate, making this a highly cost-competitive facility.
In addition to
improving local manufacturing technology and quality, the project
is expected to reflect “best-in-class”
environmental
measures - in line with the commitments to Environmental, Health
& Safety and sustainable development.
Dow Corning and
WACKER will continue independently to serve their respective
customers. Both companies will develop and operate separate
manufacturing facilities for finished products at the integrated
site in Zhangjiagang.
About Siloxane and
Fumed Silica
Siloxane is a key
starting material for the production of silicones. Major silicone
application industries include: construction, chemicals,
cosmetics, textiles, automotive, paper and electronics. Fumed
silica is used as an active filler in silicone elastomers, as a
viscosity-adjusting agent in coatings, printing inks, adhesives,
unsaturated polyester resins and plastisols or as a flow aid, for
example in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food-processing
industries.
About WACKER
WACKER
(www.wacker.com) is a globally operating chemical company
headquartered in Munich, Germany. With a wide range of
state-of-the-art specialty products, WACKER is a leader in
numerous industrial sectors. Its products support countless
high-growth end-user sectors such as photovoltaics, electronics,
pharmaceuticals and household/personal care products. The WACKER
Group posted sales of around EUR 2.76 billion in 2005, of which
some 80 percent were generated outside Germany. WACKER employs
around 14,400 people at 22 production sites in Europe, the
Americas and Asia, and about 100 sales offices worldwide. Wacker
Chemie AG is listed at the Frankfurt (Germany) Stock Exchange
(ISIN: DE000WCH8881).
About Dow Corning
Dow Corning
(www.dowcorning.com ) provides performance-enhancing solutions to
serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide.
A global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation,
offering more than 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning is
equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning,
Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual sales are outside the
United States. It recorded $3.88 billion in global sales in 2005.
2007/2/8 Wacker
WACKER Opens two Silicone Downstream Facilities in China
Today, WACKER celebrated the Grand Opening of its new silicone
downstream facilities at Jiangsu Yangtze River Chemical
Industrial Park in Zhangjiagang City 張家港, Jiangsu Province. The facilities
consist of two production plants for silicone
elastomers
and for sealants respectively. Both production
units are operated by Wacker Chemicals (ZJG) Co., Ltd., and will
help to reinforce WACKER’s leading position in the rapidly
growing Chinese silicones market.
Dr. Christoph von Plotho, President of WACKER SILICONES, and
Huang Qin, Party Secretary of Zhangjiagang City, opened the
facilities by releasing the first batch of a new silicone
product. Around 200 guests including ZJG government officials,
business partners and WACKER representatives witnessed the
memorable moment.
“The
Grand Opening of Wacker Chemicals (ZJG) Co., Ltd. new facilities
is an important milestone for us and is in line with WACKER’s long-term development strategy
in China”, Christoph von Plotho said. He
added that expanding production capacities in China will also
improve WACKER SILICONES’ global business network. “Along with our Shanghai Technical
Center, the new facilities will help us to respond quickly to
local market needs, to improve customer services in the region
and to provide silicone products that meet international quality
standards.”
WACKER SILICONES is
a leading global supplier of silicone elastomers for challenging
technical applications in the automotive, electronics and
household industries. WACKER SILICONES is also a major supplier
of high-quality silicone sealants, used mainly in the
construction industry.
WACKER SILICONES
WACKER SILICONES is a leading supplier of complete silicone-based
solutions that comprise products, services and conceptual
approaches. As a provider of solutions, WACKER SILICONES helps
customers press ahead with innovations, exploit global markets
fully, and optimize business processes to reduce overall costs
and boost productivity. Silicones from WACKER SILICONES are the
basis of materials with highly diverse product properties for
virtually unlimited applications, ranging from the automotive,
construction, chemical, electrical engineering and electronics
industries, through pulp and paper, cosmetics, consumer care,
textiles, to mechanical engineering and metal processing.
WACKER SILICONES operates 11 production sites and 28 subsidiaries
and sales offices around the world. In 2005, it generated sales
of Euro1.12 billion and had some 3,600 employees. In Shanghai, WACKER SILICONES has been
producing silicone emulsions and foam
control agents used
in the textile, cosmetics and construction industries for the
Greater China region since 2004.
WACKER Greater China milestones:
1992 WACKER opened sales office in Taipei
1993 WACKER opened sales office in Hongkong
1995 WACKER opened sales offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou
1998 WACKER opened sales offices in Beijing
WACKER opened sales offices in Hsingtsu
2000 WACKER established Shanghai Technical Center
2004 WACKER started silicone emulsion production in Shanghai
2005 WACKER started solid PVAc resins production in Wuxi
WACKER founded Chemicals (China) Co., Ltd. in Shanghai
WACKER started redispersible powder production in Zhangjiagang
WACKER expanded Shanghai Technical Center
WACKER set up joint venture with Dymatic Chemical Inc.Dymatic(formername is Dearmate) Specialty Chemical Inc. is a leading company dedicated to producing textile auxiliaries, leather chemicals, PU auxiliaries, foam stabilizer, printing inks, cyclopentane, and other fine chemicals. Founded in 1989, the company operates 9 locations and has 700 employees. The company's headquarter is in Ronggui, Shunde, Guangdong Province, China near Hong Kong.
Oct 17, 2008 Wacker
WACKER to further Expand Polysilicon Production Capacity
* New production plant with annual capacity of 10,000 metoric
tons at WACKER’s Nunchritz site
* Some 450 new jobs expected from Euro760 million investment
* Nominal annual-capacity target for Burghausen's expansion stage
8 currently under construction upped from7,000 to 10,000 metric
tons
* CEO Rudolf Staudigl: “We expect Crystalline Solar
Technology to show continued strong growth”
Wacker Chemie AG
plans to construct a new polysilicon production plant at its
Nunchritz site (Saxony, Germany) with a nominal annual capacity
of 10,000 metric tons. The Munich-based chemical company
announced this decision today. The first batch of polysilicon
from this “capacity expansion phase 9”
project is
scheduled for Q1 2011. The new plant is expected to achieve full
capacity by the end of 2011. WACKER has budgeted some Euro 760
million for this project, which should create around 450 new
jobs. The company has additionally decided to raise the nominal
annual capacity planned for Burghausen’s “expansion phase 8”
(currently under
construction) from 7,000 to 10,000 metric tons. Thanks to these
and other ongoing expansion measures, WACKER’s polysilicon capacity by year-end
2011 will reach 35,500 metric tons annually, compared to today’s 10,000 metric tons.
Output expansion will enable WACKER to meet the accelerating
global demand it expects for hyperpure polycrystalline silicon.
For coming years, WACKER anticipates continued double-digit
annual growth in polysilicon demand by the solar-industry. The
company likewise expects higher polysilicon demand from the
electronics industry.
“We
expect crystalline solar technology to show continued strong
growth and customer demand for polysilicon to remain high,”
said Dr. Rudolf
Staudigl, CEO of Wacker Chemie AG. “Already the world’s second-largest polysilicon
producer, we intend to reinforce and extend our market position
by intensifying capacity expansion. Nunchritz’s highly advanced infrastructure
and integrated production loops make it the logical choice for
this expansion from a business and technical viewpoint.”
According to the
CEO, the closed material loops obtained by perfectly integrating
the new facility into Nunchritz’s existing production environment
will not only be highly resource-efficient but also essential for
achieving the lowest-possible polysilicon manufacturing costs.
For over 50 years, WACKER has been producing hyperpure
polycrystalline silicon for the semiconductor industry. With
rising solar-silicon demand, WACKER POLYSILICON has been
expanding capacity step by step and, since 2000, increasingly
supplying the photovoltaics industry. Supplementing Burghausen,
Nunchritz will be WACKER’s second site to manufacture solar
silicon. The German state of Saxony, in which it is located, is
among the world’s leading solar-industry centers.
WACKER in Nunchritz
At Nunchritz, WACKER SILICONES (a WACKER division) produces pyrogenic silica,
chlorosilanes, silicates, silicone fluids, silicone emulsions,
antifoam agents, siliconates and silicone rubber, as well as the
necessary precursors.
In the past 10 years, WACKER has invested more than Euro 550
million to transform this site into one of the world’s largest and most modern silicone
production complexes. The Munich-based chemical company currently
employs some 930 staff in Nunchritz.
WACKER and Dow Corning start raw material production at China’s largest integrated silicone site
Today, WACKER Chemie AG and Dow Corning Corporation officially started production in the first stage of their new pyrogenic silica and siloxane plants in Zhangjiagang (China). The new plants are key facilities of an integrated silicone manufacturing site developed by both companies to produce materials used extensively in industries including construction, beauty and personal care, power and automotives. Total investment from both companies for the site is estimated at approximately 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. Covering an area of 1 million square meters, the site located in the Jiangsu Yangtze River Chemical Industrial Park, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, is China’s largest facility of this kind and among the world’s largest and most advanced integrated production complexes for silicones.
The combined capacity for siloxane and pyrogenic silica is planned to be approximately 200,000 metric tons per year. It is expected that full operational capacity will be phased in by the end of 2010. Through their Zhangjiagang production complex, WACKER and Dow Corning intend to serve growing customer demand for silicone materials in China and throughout the Asian region.Siloxane and pyrogenic silica are key intermediates for the manufacturing of finished silicone products. Key application industries include: construction, automotive, electronics, beauty & personal care, healthcare, power & utility, solar, textile, and paper. The new upstream production facilities are jointly operated by WACKER and Dow Corning. At the site, both companies are also manufacturing finished silicone products. These production plants are owned and operated separately with independent marketing and sales by Dow Corning and WACKER. During an opening ceremony held in Zhangjiagang today, Dr. Rudolf Staudigl, President and CEO of Wacker Chemie AG, and Dr. Stephanie Burns, Chairman, President and CEO of Dow Corning Corporation, both emphasized the strategic importance of the new facilities. “Today’s inauguration of our joint production plants for siloxane and pyrogenic silica marks a key milestone in setting up this world-class integrated silicone manufacturing site. They enable us to serve our customers’ needs, to drive the development of the silicone industry in China, and to contribute to the further development of China’s circular economy, which is an important part of China's effort toward sustainable development,” Staudigl said.Dr. Stephanie Burns also commented in her speech: “This is an exciting day for Dow Corning, for our customers and the people of China. Throughout China and in many other parts of Asia, we see more and more manufacturers wanting to use silicones to help them improve the performance of their own products. Our investment in this site significantly enhances our ability to meet that need and to help spur the growth of many key industries in this region. It also demonstrates our commitment as a company to sustainable development, using our long history of expertise and technology know-how to create environmental, economic and social benefits wherever we operate.”The first phase of siloxane and pyrogenic silica production facilities, which now has been successfully completed, is an important step toward integrated production loops at the Zhangjiagang site. The siloxane plant will supply chlorosilane for the production of pyrogenic silica as raw material, while the pyrogenic silica plant will send back its by-product hydrogen chloride (HCL) for the production of siloxane. This integrated production approach not only plays an important role in reducing emissions, but also helps to reduce logistical flows. This, in turn means less transportation traffic, benefitting the local community and improving production efficiency.At their integrated Zhangjiagang site, WACKER and Dow Corning apply global standards to ensure high product quality and bring in state-of-the-art production processes and technology. This includes advanced processes for raw material efficiency, a highly energy efficient design and environmental control technology. These tried-and-tested technologies have been in use in similar manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Europe, and have proven to produce high yields and quality output in a safe and environmentally-responsible way. WACKER and Dow Corning are fully committed to sustainable production in China. Like their other facilities across the world, the integrated site actively implements the concept of sustainable development. Its environment, health, safety and security (EHSS) management system accords with strict international standards. Both WACKER and Dow Corning are members of the Association of International Chemical Manufacturers (AICM), China's first international association to deal with global chemical issues. They committed to continually improving the performance of EHSS, sharing best sustainable production practices with their Chinese peers and providing professional solutions to major issues facing China’s society.
About Siloxane and
Pyrogenic Silica
Siloxane is a key starting material for the production of
silicones. Major silicone application industries include:
construction, automotive, electronics, beauty & personal
care, healthcare, coating, power & utility, solar, textile,
and paper. Pyrogenic silica is used as an active filler in
silicone elastomers, as a viscosity-adjusting agent in coatings,
printing inks, adhesives, unsaturated polyester resins and
plastisols or as a flow aid, for example in the cosmetics,
pharmaceutical and food-processing industries.