MUNICH, Germany—Wacker Chemie A.G. will add a $36.5 million liquid resin division at its Nuenchritz, Germany, site, the company said June 2.
The unit will manufacture silicone-based building protection agents for use in exterior paints and coatings and create about 50 new jobs with the unit. The division will begin sending products to market at the conclusion of 2022.
Currently, only Wacker's Burghausen facility makes these silicone resin agents.
"The decision to extend the production of silanes and liquid resins to Nuenchritz enables us to respond with even greater flexibility to customer needs," Auguste Willems, Wacker executive board member, said in a statement.
Besides building protection agents, Wacker uses the silanes and liquids resins to manufacture concrete protection creams, which comprise hydrophic ingredients (also contained in the exterior paints, protective coatings and heat-resistant powder paints).
The unit in Nuenchritz is planned for the northern portion of the expansive site.
"The new unit in Nuenchritz closes material loops and increases the availability of key intermediates," Willems said. "This enhances our supply security throughout our integrated production system. The new setup offers us far more opportunities for supporting current market developments and for establishing production lines for new products if justified by demand."
With the construction industry returning in force and industrial coatings in need, silicone-based materials and binders are in high demand, Wacker said.
"Our specialties business is highly profitable," Robert Gnann, head of Wacker's silicones division, said in a news release. "It is still too early to talk about capacity expansions exceeding this measure. But one thing is certain: the investment is an important basis for future growth. The expansion shows that we are determined to strengthen and further expand our market position in the building-protection and coating sectors."
The liquid resins plant will be near a hybrid polymer facility that is under construction.
"It was important for us to integrate the new liquid resins unit into the existing surroundings and to use the infrastructure there in the best possible way," said Nuenchritz site manager Jutta Matreux. "Both the liquid resins plant and the hybrid polymer facility greatly enhance the site's status in terms of the integrated production system operated by Wacker Silicones."