2008
June 19, 2008
300 mm Wafer Production
Siltronic and Samsung jointly start to produce 300 mm wafers in Singapore. The new complex is among the world’s largest and most modern 300 mm wafer facilities. By 2012, the joint venture aims to reach a monthly capacity of 300,000 wafers. The overall investment in this project is about US$1 billion.
October 11, 2008
Training & Competence Center
WACKER opens a training and competence center for construction chemicals in Moscow. This international facility offers the ideal platform for sector-specific networking between customers, sales partners and WACKER experts. The Group is also expanding its Moscow technical center, which promotes the transfer of expertise to local customers and business partners.
February 1, 2008
Global Market Leader
WACKER finalizes the acquisition of its polymer joint ventures. As the world’s leading supplier of dispersible polymer powders for construction applications, WACKER expects the transaction to benefit its global polymers business on several strategic fronts.
July 3, 2008
WACKER Chair
WACKER and the TUM open the Institute of Silicon Chemistry, part of the WACKER Chair of Macromolecular Chemistry, at the research center in Garching (near Munich). The lab offers ideal working conditions for interdisciplinary research into macromolecular organosilicon compounds.
November 14, 2008
Raw-Materials Production
WACKER and Dow Corning start raw material production at the largest integrated silicone site in China. Both companies are jointly investing some US$1.2 billion in expanding pyrogenic-silica and siloxane production. Not only is it China’s biggest facility of this kind, but it is also one of the world’s largest and most advanced integrated silicone production sites.
2009
October 22, 2009
ew Technical Center
WACKER opens a new technical center for polymer applications in Allentown (Pennsylvania, USA). The focus is on products for customers in construction, adhesives, technical textiles and architectural coatings.
July 7, 2009
WACKER Silicone Award
The WACKER Silicone Award goes to Prof. Ulrich Schubert of the Vienna University of Technology – in recognition of his ground-breaking work on metal-silicon complexes and his material-sciences studies on, for example, the sol-gel process.
May 26, 2009
Cyclodextrin Production
WACKER starts up its expanded cyclodextrin plant in Eddyville (Iowa, USA), strengthening its market position for alpha, beta and gamma cyclodextrins (bioengineered sugar molecules).
August 4, 2009
Development and Testing Lab
The Dubai technical center for Middle East customers is expanded. Serving as a development and testing laboratory for applications involving construction chemicals, the center helps WACKER tap into the region’s fast-growing construction industry.
November 16, 2009
Dispersible Polymer Powder Production Plant
WACKER starts up its new production plant for dispersible polymer powders and dispersions in Nanjing (China). The plant secures consistently high, long-term delivery reliability and product quality for customers in the Asia-Pacific region. With a polymer-powder capacity of 30,000 metric tons per year, it is the largest plant of its kind in China.
2010
April 21, 2010
Polysilicon Facilities Go on Stream
Burghausen sees additional polycrystalline-silicon facilities come on stream. Overall, WACKER has invested about €500 million in this expansion stage, which creates some 200 new jobs. The new facilities manufacture material for both the solar sector and the semiconductor market.
November 18, 2010
China’s Largest Silicone Site Opened
At Zhangjiagang, WACKER and Dow Corning open China’s largest integrated silicone site. From this location, both companies can now meet the soaring demand for silicones in China, and Asia as a whole. The joint investments for this project total US$1.8 billion.
April 6, 2010
New Training Centers
The WACKER ACADEMY grows, with new training centers opening in São Paulo (Brazil) and Singapore. Such centers offer an ideal platform for exchanging expertise with local customers and partners.
June 7, 2010
Acquisition of Silicon-Metal Plant
WACKER acquires a silicon-metal plant in Holla from Norway’s FESIL Group. This strategic acquisition means WACKER can cover its long-term silicon-metal needs. The Holla plant makes WACKER more independent of raw-material price fluctuations and increases supply security.
December 9, 2010
New Polysilicon Production Site in USA
WACKER is going to construct a new, fully integrated polysilicon site with an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons in the US State of Tennessee. Costing about €1.1 billion, the project is expected to create 650 new jobs. It is scheduled for completion in late 2013.