Divestitures

WACKER did not divest any business fields or product business in 2016.

Investments

Capital expenditures were down by almost half year over year, coming in at €427.6 million (2015: €834.0 million).

WACKER’s investing activities remained centered on the construction of the new polysilicon site at Charleston, Tennessee (USA). Around €100 million was invested in 2016 to complete this project. Another focus of our capital expenditures was on plants for manufacturing downstream products in various regions. For example, we raised production capacity for cyclodextrins by 30 percent at our site in Eddyville, Iowa (USA). At the Burghausen site, we expanded production of functional silicone fluids in several stages. These fluids find application in the coatings, paper, textile, cosmetics and personal-care sectors. Capital spending on this expansion project amounted to some €25 million. In Freiberg, we invested in new pulling facilities for manufacturing monocrystals at Siltronic. Renovation of the Alz canal in Burghausen incurred capital expenditure of €25 million.

We initiated further investment projects in 2016. In Jincheon, South Korea, we are moving production to a new location and, at the same time, expanding our capacities for silicone sealants, specialty silicones and liquid silicone rubber. In Amtala, India, we are building a production plant for surfactant silicones for industrial, agricultural and personal-care applications.