KOLKATA, India—German chemical group Wacker is strengthening its presence in India by opening its expanded technical center for silicone products in Amtala near Kolkata on Jan. 15.
The company said the technical center is operated by the joint venture Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. The center now contains state-of-the-art applications technology and test equipment for silicone products in the textiles, personal care and construction industries. The investment amounts to about $680,257.
"By advancing our lab capabilities, we will leverage our local competence to fulfill our customers' needs in the growing regions of India and South East Asia even better," said Christian Hartel, president of Wacker Silicones, during the opening ceremony.
Wacker Metroark Chemicals is headquartered in Kolkata and responsible for production, marketing and sales activities in the Indian subcontinent relating to Wacker silicone products. The joint venture—in which Wacker has a 51 percent stake—was set up in 1998 and is active in India's "most important" trade centres with sales offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, as well as in Dhaka in Bangladesh.
"Wacker and Metroark have been working together with great success for over a decade," said Soumitra Mukherjee, managing director of Wacker Metroark Chemicals. "With our range of high quality silicone products, we are already market leaders in many industries in India today. And with the new labs, we are able to offer our customers even more effective local support."
Key markets for Wacker Metroark Chemicals are the textile, personal care, construction, coatings, transmission and distribution, automotive, plastics, adhesives, and packaging sectors. The company also markets Wacker sealants, silanes and pyrogenic silica in India. The joint venture's current workforce in India consists of over 180 employees.