2006/9/8 Dow Corning/Wacker

DOW CORNING AND WACKER CELEBRATE THE GROUNDBREAKING OF NEW SILOXANE FACILITY IN CHINA

Construction of Chinafs 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: gThe 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.h
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, gWe 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.h
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 gbest-in-classh 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 Corningfs 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
ƍ`, 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 WACKERfs 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.
gThe Grand Opening of Wacker Chemicals (ZJG) Co., Ltd. new facilities is an important milestone for us and is in line with WACKERfs long-term development strategy in Chinah, Christoph von Plotho said. He added that expanding production capacities in China will also improve WACKER SILICONESf global business network. gAlong 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.h
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
fs 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:
gWe expect Crystalline Solar Technology to show continued strong growthh

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 gcapacity expansion phase 9h 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 Burghausenfs gexpansion phase 8h (currently under construction) from 7,000 to 10,000 metric tons. Thanks to these and other ongoing expansion measures, WACKERfs polysilicon capacity by year-end 2011 will reach 35,500 metric tons annually, compared to todayfs 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.
gWe expect crystalline solar technology to show continued strong growth and customer demand for polysilicon to remain high,h said Dr. Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of Wacker Chemie AG. gAlready the worldfs second-largest polysilicon producer, we intend to reinforce and extend our market position by intensifying capacity expansion. Nunchritzfs highly advanced infrastructure and integrated production loops make it the logical choice for this expansion from a business and technical viewpoint.h According to the CEO, the closed material loops obtained by perfectly integrating the new facility into Nunchritzfs 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
fs second site to manufacture solar silicon. The German state of Saxony, in which it is located, is among the worldfs 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 worldfs largest and most modern silicone production complexes. The Munich-based chemical company currently employs some 930 staff in Nunchritz.


2008/11/14 Wacker

WACKER and Dow Corning start raw material production at Chinafs 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 Chinafs largest facility of this kind and among the worldfs 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. gTodayfs 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 customersf needs, to drive the development of the silicone industry in China, and to contribute to the further development of Chinafs circular economy, which is an important part of China's effort toward sustainable development,h Staudigl said.Dr. Stephanie Burns also commented in her speech: gThis 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.hThe 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 Chinafs 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.

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