MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Munich-based Wacker Chemie AG has officially started up its new pilot reactor for vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Nanjing site (Jiangsu province) in China, said the producer on its site.
The new facility will allow Wacker to expand its local research and development activities in China and grow to its regional portfolio of product development, application technology and customer services.
The investment needed for the pilot reactor amounts to around EUR2.4 million.
The company’s goals for the project are to meet growing demand in China and Asia for high-quality polymeric binders and to strengthen its position as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of EVA dispersions and dispersible polymer powders.
New pilot reactor for EVA dispersions at Wacker’s fully integrated Nanjing site will allow the company to expand its local research and development activities in China and grow its regional portfolio of product development, application technology and customer services.
"Our objective is to work with our customers to develop first-class solutions adapted to local needs and, in that way, to contribute to Wacker’s growth going forward," explained Peter Summo, president of Wacker Polymers. "Wacker is now one of the world’s few EVA manufacturers that can support customers in China from the development lab all the way up to large-scale production."
The pilot reactor serves as a research facility for custom-made EVA dispersions and dispersible polymer powders, which go on to be used in the construction, adhesives and coatings industries, among others.
Located at WACKER’s fully integrated polymer site in Nanjing, this ultramodern facility is state of the art, as it is home to a completely automated monitoring and control system. Wacker already manufactures its VINNAPAS EVA dispersions and dispersible polymer powders in Nanjing - products are used, for example, for formulating high-quality adhesives, low-odor, environmentally-friendly interior paints and for energy-saving building solutions such as external thermal insulation composite systems. Other applications include tile adhesives, plasters, paper coatings, carpet applications and technical textiles.
Having operated its own subsidiary in Greater China for over 20 years, Wacker has greatly expanded its activities there in recent years. The company not only maintains eight sales offices in all the country’s key economic regions, but also two technical centers and three production sites. The Group produces silicones and polymers in Zhangjiagang and Nanjing (both situated in Jiangsu province). The plants there are the largest of their kind in China. Wacker generated sales of over EUR1.3 billion in the Greater China region (including Taiwan) in 2015.
As MRC wrote before, in 2013, Wacker Chemie AG officially 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 has, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.
Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC