The range of products and services at each of our divisions generally remained unchanged in 2016. In several application areas, though, we expanded our product portfolio. With over 2,800 products, WACKER SILICONES has our broadest offering. The division manufactures specialties tailored to customers’ specific needs, and standard products primarily used as starting materials in silicone production.
WACKER POLYMERS manufactures state-of-the-art binders and polymeric additives (such as dispersible polymer powders and dispersions). These are used in diverse industrial applications or as base chemicals. Customers include the paint, coating, paper and adhesive industries. The main customer for polymeric binders is the construction industry.
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, our smallest division, supplies customized biotech and catalog products for the fine-chemical sector. Products include pharmaceutical proteins, cyclodextrins, cysteine, polyvinyl acetate solid resins (for gumbase), organic intermediates and acetylacetone. The division focuses on customer-specific solutions for growth areas, such as food additives, pharmaceutical actives and agrochemicals.
WACKER POLYSILICON produces hyperpure polysilicon for semiconductors and electronics and – above all – for the solar sector. Most of this polysilicon is sent to external customers. Internally, we provide polysilicon to Siltronic.
Siltronic, the leading semiconductor manufacturer, produces silicon wafers. They are the essential raw material for virtually all semiconductor products – whether for discrete semiconductor components (transistors or rectifiers) or for microchips (microprocessors, memory chips).
Integrated Production System – WACKER’s Greatest Strength
The highly integrated material loops at its major sites in Burghausen, Nünchritz and Zhangjiagang are one of the WACKER Group’s key competitive advantages. The basic principle of integrated production is to use the byproducts from one stage as starting materials for making other products. The auxiliaries required for this, such as silanes, are recycled in a closed loop. Waste heat from one process is utilized in other chemical processes. Integrated production not only cuts energy and resource consumption, but also improves the use of raw materials in the long term, and integrates environmental protection into our processes.