Wacker opens tech center in Singapore, names president

MUNICH—Wacker A.G. has been busy.

The firm inaugurated an expanded technical center in Singapore for developing and testing silicone elastomers for growing industries such as health care and electronics.

Robert Gnann also was appointed president of Wacker Silicones, succeeding Christian Hartel, who was appointed to the Wacker Group's executive board last November.

Gnann comes to Wacker from Momentive Performance Materials, where he was the leader of the firm's elastomer and European activities. Wacker said Gnann began his career at GE Silicones in 1996 and moved to Bayer A.G., which became Lanxess A.G., in Canada and Germany. He held managerial positions in production and technology with Bayer/Lanxess.

He joined Momentive in 2008, Wacker said, and initially was responsible for the Elastomers Business Unit. In 2010, he became the executive in charge of Wacker's European activities.

In Singapore, a new laboratory for silicone elastomers has been established. And in a joint move, the firm said labs for silicones and polymeric binders dedicated to construction applications have been expanded and newly furnished.

Wacker said the lab space has more than doubled as part of the expansion. The center now spans more than 16,000 square feet under one roof that includes customer development, applications technology and a training facility for silicone and polymer applications.

The regional competence center will provide technical support in the electronics, personal care, health care, textile, automotive, coatings and construction industries, Wacker said. The firm cited strong economic development in Southeast Asia as a reason for investment, highlighting electronics and construction as primary drivers.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Wacker has had a presence in the region for about 30 years. It established Wacker Chemicals (South Asia) Pte. Ltd. in 1984 and coordinates regional sales. The firm also operates technical centers in Australia, China, India and South Korea, with 22 technical centers worldwide.

Wacker's employment has more than doubled in the last few years. The firm said more than 80 work in the Southeast Asia region and about 20 of them are employed at the Singapore center.

“Southeast Asia is an important growth market for Wacker,” Executive Board Member Christian Hardel said during the opening ceremony. “Our sales in the region have grown significantly over the recent years, and we see further potential for strong future growth in the region. The expanded facility will strengthen our position as one of the leading silicones and polymers manufacturers in Southeast Asia and provides a basis for future growth.”

Patrick de Wolf, managing director of Wacker Southeast Asia, said in an email that building activity is consistently on the rise. By 2025, global construction is estimated to grow by more than 70 percent to $15 trillion, with a strong focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

He cited increasing economic growth and wealth along with rising populations, which results in more urbanization, infrastructure investment and residential building activities.

The executive added that the coatings and construction industries also make high demands.

“Products must offer high efficiency, quality and performance while at the same time being cost-efficient and energy-saving, easy to process and complying with environmental and safety standards,” de Wolf wrote. “As a result, the popularity of Wacker's dispersions and dispersible polymer powders as well as construction silicones is increasing steadily, in particular as Wacker offers tailor-made solutions for the Asian markets.”

De Wolf said Wacker views the Southeast Asia region as a high-priority geography, with sales growing significantly in recent years. The firm sees further potential for strong growth in the coming years because the region's economic development is growing at a fast pace, citing electronics and health care applications as two primary sources.

The electrical and electronics industries expect global market volumes to expand by 5 percent in 2016, de Wolf said, citing analyst estimates. Asia and the U.S. mainly will fuel this growth. Wacker sees strong potential in the health care sector for its products, as it is essential that the materials employed meet the highest quality requirements. Pure silicones meet these demands and are therefore vital for highly sensitive health care applications, according to the firm.

On the electronics side, de Wolf said silicones are a material of choice because of their versatility and unique properties—including thermal, optical, electrical and physical features being superior to many other organic materials. Wacker established a silicone research and development enter for electronic applications in South Korea in 2012, providing technical expertise to local and global customers in developing new products for electronic and lighting applications.

Wacker's global production system consists of 25 sites—nine in Europe, eight in the Americas and eight in Asia. Wacker has silicones production facilities in South Korea, India, Japan and China.

“As we see our further rising demands, we have decided to additionally set up a dedicated silicone elastomers lab here in Singapore, too, for further support,” de Wolf said. “This enables us to serve our customers and partners in these industries even better than in the past. Providing quicker and more flexible support to these key industries will strengthen our position as one of the leading silicones manufacturers in the region and provide a basis for future growth.”