MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Chemie AG is expanding its silicone elastomer production capacity in Jincheon, South Korea, as per the company's press release.
The new facilities will include production plants for silicone sealants, specialty silicones and liquid silicone rubber. At the same time, existing production units in Jincheon will be transferred to the new site.
Investments for the expansion will total around EUR16 million. Construction work will officially start end of July, production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018. The new expansion project is Wacker’s response to growing regional demand for silicone elastomers in the construction, electronics and automotive industries.
Growth on the silicone sealants market in Asia is exceptionally strong. Expanding sealant production in Jincheon, South Korea, will benefit Wacker customers across the entire region.
The new production site is located in Jincheon, roughly 100 km southeast of Seoul. "The Asian market for sealants and encapsulants is growing at an incredible rate," noted WACKER Executive Board member Auguste Willems. "In order to meet increasing demand over the long term, we have decided to significantly increase our production capacity in Jincheon. In this way, we intend to secure and continue expanding our position as a leading silicone manufacturer in the region and profit from Asia’s strong growth."
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 had, 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