MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a move to expand its technology leadership in high-quality silicone and polymer products for the Chinese market, Wacker Chemie AG officially opened its new 10,000-sq-meter headquarters for the Greater China region (Mainland China and Taiwan) in Shanghai on 14 December, as per the company's press release.
The new Shanghai Centre, equiped with the latest facilities for WACKER's experts to adapt silicone and polymer products to the specific requirements of their Chinese customers, is aimed for marketing, sales and administrative functions along with numerous laboratories for R&D and applications technology.
CEO Staudigl stressed the strategic importance of China as a growth market for Wacker. Last year, Wacker's sales in China and Taiwan amounted to EUR1.03 billion, which is around one-fifth of the Group total.
Over the recent years Wacker has greatly expanded its activities in the region, having operated its own subsidiary in Greater China for 20 years. The company's investments in China to date amount to about EUR400 million, while WACKER is planning to invest over EUR600 million in the next four years.
The company has eight sales offices in the most important economic regions of China, as well as two technical centers and four production sites. Its Zhangjiagang and Nanjing sites produce silicones, dispersions and dispersible polymer powders. The plants there are the largest of their kind in China.
Wacker is currently doubling its dispersions production capacity in Nanjing to 120,000 metric tpa in order to meet increasing demand from customers. The company is also building a new polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) plant there with an annual production capacity of 20,000 tonnes. Both plants are scheduled to come on stream next year.
Besides, as MRC informed earlier, Wacker and DKSH Business Unit Performance Materials had entered into a strategic partnership, under which Wacker would distribute fermenter cysteine and bioengineered cyclodextrins through DKSH under the exclusive distribution agreement to South East Asia, Greater China and parts of the India subcontinent. Moreover, the company is building a new plant with an annual capacity of 40,000 metric tonnes at its site in Ulsan, South Korea. The new facility is aimed to produce vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (EVA) dispersions for applications in the paints and coatings, construction, nonwoven, paper and carpet industries.
MRC