WACKER Expands Production Capacity for Silicone Sealants and Specialty Silicones
Wacker Chemie AG is expanding its silicone elastomer production capacity in Jincheon, South Korea. The new facilities will include production plants for silicone sealants, specialty silicones and liquid silicone rubber. At the same time, existing production units in Jincheon will be transferred to the new site. Investments for the expansion will total around €16 million. Construction work will officially start end of July, production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018. The new expansion project is WACKER’s response to growing regional demand for silicone elastomers in the construction, electronics and automotive industries.
The new production site is located in Jincheon, roughly 100 km southeast of Seoul. “The Asian market for sealants and encapsulants is growing at an incredible rate,” noted WACKER Executive Board member Auguste Willems. “In order to meet increasing demand over the long term, we have decided to significantly increase our production capacity in Jincheon. In this way, we intend to secure and continue expanding our position as a leading silicone manufacturer in the region and profit from Asia’s strong growth.”
WACKER operations in Jincheon began in 2010 with the production of silicone sealants for construction applications and a variety of specialty silicone products for the electronics industry. Due to space constraints, however, capacity expansions at the existing site are not possible. For this reason, WACKER will dismantle the production facilities there late next year and transfer them to the new site in Jincheon. “Our objectives in building the new site are twofold: first, the site will create additional production capacity, which we will utilize for expanding our regional silicone sealant business”, Willems emphasized. “At the same time, we also intend to continue growing our business regarding specialty silicones.”
Other news from the department manufacturing
