Key Events in 2013

  • February

    South Korea

    WACKER started up a new production facility for vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. With the second reactor line’s additional 40,000 metric tons, the capacity of VAE dispersions there has increased to a total of 90,000 metric tons per year.

  • March

    Extension of contracts

    Extension of contracts: the Supervisory Board of Wacker Chemie AG re-appointed Dr. Rudolf Staudigl as president and CEO and Auguste Willems as Executive Board member for another five years.

  • March

    European Coatings Show

    At the European Coatings Show (ECS) in Nuremberg, WACKER introduced innovations for the construction, packaging and adhesives industries. Presentations ranged from silicone resins and polymeric binders for exterior and interior paint and plaster applications all the way to cyclodextrins as environmentally compatible processing auxiliaries.

  • April

    Nanjing

    WACKER started up a further production plant for vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions. An additional 60,000 metric tons has doubled capacity to 120,000 tons a year; the plant complex is one of the largest of its kind in China.

  • July

    Award

    In Singapore, Unilever conferred its “Partner to Win Award” on WACKER in recognition of its demand-driven supply of silicone raw materials. According to the jury, WACKER helped to significantly reduce the cost of silicone emulsions for hair-care products by expanding capacities at its site in India and by developing effective solutions.

  • September

    Sustainability Report

    Wacker Chemie AG published its Sustainability Report for 2011 and 2012. Partly in the interests of environmental protection, this was the first time that the company’s report had been published exclusively as an online version. It fully meets the G3 guidelines set by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). GRI evaluated the report and accorded it an A, its highest reporting category.

  • October

    ELASTOSIL®

    WACKER presented innovations for the silicone and plastics processing industries at K 2013, the 19th International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber, in Düsseldorf. Its ELASTOSIL® Film – a thin film of silicone – is a world first. It can be used, for example, in pioneering sensor technologies.

  • November

    Wacker Biotech

    Wacker Biotech in Jena, a subsidiary of Wacker Chemie AG, acquired a BioNet Ventures GmbH production site in Halle for the manufacture of therapeutic proteins. WACKER’s acquisition covers the assets and patent portfolio of Scil Proteins Production. This acquisition strengthens the activities of WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS in the field of pharmaceutical proteins (biologics).