MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Chemie AG has officially started up a new specialty-monomer plant with an annual capacity of 3,800 metric tons at its Burghausen site in Germany, said the producer in its press release.
The specialty monomers vinyl neodecanoate and vinyl laurate are key raw materials in the manufacture of specialty dispersible polymer powders. The goal of the new plant is to ensure that WACKER has sufficient specialty-binder capacity available, both now and in the future, to provide its customers with a secure, long-term supply of high-quality products. WACKER invested some EUR8 million in the facility and has, as a result, strengthened its position as the world’s biggest producer of dispersible polymer powders.
By expanding its capacities, WACKER is meeting global demand for its dispersible polymer powders – which is rising amid such world trends as urbanization, renovation and energy efficiency. The specialty monomers vinyl neodecanoate and vinyl laurate give WACKER’s dispersible polymer powders special properties, such as hydrophobicity.
Christoph Riemer, head of polymer-powder business at WACKER POLYMERS, stresses how strategically important the new production facility is: "With our new specialty-monomer plant, we now have the capacity we need to secure long-term a captive supply of these raw materials, which are important for polymer-powder production at Burghausen. In addition, the facility reinforces our leading market and cost positions sustainably."
WACKER has been producing dispersible polymer powders as binders for dry-mix mortars in Burghausen, Germany, since 1957 and, today, is a global technology and market leader in this field. VINNAPAS polymer powders find use in various construction applications such as tile adhesives, self-leveling flooring compounds, plasters, repair mortars, external thermal insulation composite systems and cementitious sealing slurries. They enhance important end-product properties, such as adhesion, cohesion, flexibility and flexural strength. Water retention, processing properties and weatherability benefit from VINNAPAS, too.
As MRC reported earlier, Wacker Chemie AG launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.
Wacker Polymers is a leading producer of state-of-the-art binders and polymeric additives based on polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acetate copolymers. These take the form of dispersible polymer powders, dispersions, solid resins, and solutions. They are used in construction chemicals, paints, surface coatings, adhesives and nonwovens, and in fiber composites and polymeric materials based on renewable resources. Wacker Polymers has production sites in Germany, China, South Korea and the USA, as well as a global sales network and technology centers in all major regions.
MRC