WACKER Starts Production in Second Monomer Plant Stage in Nunchritz, Germany
o ANNUAL SILOXANE PRODUCTION CAPACITY BOOSTED TO 100,000 METRIC TONS
o CORNERSTONE OF WACKER'S EUR 500 MILLION INVESTMENT PROGRAM IN NUNCHRITZ
o EXPANSION INTO CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR SILICONES CREATES OVER 200 NEW JOBS
Nunchritz, November 8, 2006 - Today, the Munich-based WACKER Group officially started production in the second stage of its new monomer plant in Nünchritz (in the German state of Saxony). Saxony's Minister for Economic Affairs and Labor, Thomas Jurk, attended the ceremony. WACKER President and CEO Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker sees the large-scale project as the crucial milestone in establishing Nünchritz as a Center of Excellence for silicone production.
Alongside methylchlorosilanes, the plant's main product is siloxane, a key starting material for silicones. Since 1999, WACKER has invested EUR 500 million in the site's production facilities for silicones and their intermediates, as well as in infrastructure, environmental protection and safety. The monomer plant alone accounts for about EUR 150 million of this sum. The overall expansion project creates over 200 new jobs at WACKER.
Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker says: "The new monomer plant will help us meet our rising feedstock needs for silicone production and create sufficient capacity to keep pace with anticipated market growth. Today, we are one of the world's top three silicone suppliers and intend to further strengthen our position."
Starting the second stage boosts the annual siloxane production capacity of the monomer plant to 100,000 metric tons. After the main WACKER plant in Burghausen, Nünchritz thus has evolved into the second important mainstay for the Group's monomer supplies.
WACKER in Nunchritz
At its Nünchritz site, WACKER SILICONES produces pyrogenic silica, chlorosilanes, silicates, silicone fluids and emulsions, foam control agents, siliconates and silicone rubber, as well as their precursors. Silicones are suited to numerous areas of application ranging from construction, chemicals, textiles and plastics, through the automotive, electrical engineering and electronics sectors, to the cosmetics and paper industries. Silicones from Saxony are exported around the globe.
WACKER in Saxony
WACKER has had operations in Saxony since 1995 (Siltronic) and 1998 (WACKER SILICONES). Currently, WACKER has some 2,000 employees in Nünchritz and Freiberg, making it Saxony's largest chemical employer. Nünchritz alone has about 900 WACKER employees, including some 60 trainees.
For further information, please contact:
Wacker Chemie AG
Media Relations and Information
Christof Bachmair
Tel.: +49 89 6279-1830
Fax: +49 89 6279-1239
christof.bachmair@wacker.com
The company in brief:
WACKER is a globally active company with approx. 14,400 employees and annual sales of around 2.76 billion (2005, IFRS-compliant). WACKER has currently 22 production sites worldwide and a global sales network of more than 100 subsidiaries and offices.
WACKER SILICONES
Silicone fluids, emulsions, rubber and resins; silanes; pyrogenic silicas and thermoplastic silicone elastomers
WACKER POLYMERS
Dispersible polymer powders and dispersions for applications in the construction industry, solid resins, surface coating resins, polyvinyl butyrals
WACKER FINE CHEMICALS
Custom syntheses, fine chemicals, biologics and other biotech products
WACKER POLYSILICON
Polysilicon for the semiconductor and photovoltaics industries
Siltronic
Hyperpure silicon wafers and monocrystals for semiconductor devices
