Major Markets and Competitive Positions

In its four biggest sales-generating divisions, WACKER ranks among the world’s top three suppliers. And we are the global market leader for some products, such as VINNAPAS^® dispersible polymer powders for the construction industry. The key sales region for our products is Europe (including Germany), followed by Asia and the Americas.

Market Positions of WACKER’s Divisions

In the silicones market, WACKER SILICONES ranks number 3, and, in the building-protection silicones segment, we are global number 1. We hold a leading market position in Europe with sales of €54 million in 2011. Due to their wide-ranging product properties, silicones are used in every major industry. The largest growth potential lies in Asia, where ever-higher living standards are boosting demand for silicone products.

WACKER POLYMERS is the world’s largest producer of dispersions and dispersible polymer powders based on vinyl acetate-ethylene. Importantly, we are the only company in the market to have a complete supply chain for dispersions and powders in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The largest growth potential lies in Asia, where we maintain an integrated production site for dispersions and polymer powders at Nanjing (annual capacity: 30,000 metric tons). Beside the construction industry, WACKER POLYMERS also supplies the textile, adhesive, paint and surface-coating sectors.

WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS is the global market leader in cyclodextrins and cysteine, and in polyvinyl acetate solid resins for gumbase. In the field of bacterial pharmaceutical protein production, we hold small, but promising market positions, which we are continuing to expand.

WACKER POLYSILICON operates in an intensely competitive and high-growth environment, chiefly shaped by increasing solar-industry demand for polysilicon and market trends in the global solar sector. Through capacity expansion and substantial productivity gains, we have reinforced our position as the second-largest producer of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon for electronic and solar applications. Thanks to the ramp-up of expansion stage 9 in Nünchritz, production capacities rose in 2011.

Siltronic remains the world’s third-largest manufacturer of silicon wafers and other products for the semiconductor industry. Its customers include all the major global semiconductor companies, which account for over 80 percent of our sales in this segment.