GEESTHACHT, Germay—Evonik Industries A.G. has started production at a new multi-purpose silicones manufacturing facility in Geesthacht.
Located about 20.5 miles outside Hamburg, the "double-digit million euro" factory was inaugurated in January and now produces silicones and silyl-terminated polymers, which Evonik sells under the brand names Polymer VS and Polymer ST.
The site's products can be used in various applications, including parquet adhesive flooring, liquid membranes for roofing or electronical potting.
Evonik said the new capacities, the amount of which was not disclosed, will enable it to supply products to customers faster and more reliably.
"We commissioned the facility's new tank farm before the full impact of the COVID-19 virus was realized, but still had testing to do before we could be fully operational," Sabine Giessler-Blank, head of the polymer and construction specialties product line, said in a statement.
The company, "still managed to complete the project on schedule despite several additional safety measures," she added.
The Geesthacht site is expected to employ 100 people and will focus on two areas: silicone and nanotechnology.
The addition- and condensation-curing silicones as well as the SMPs are used as binders in adhesives and sealants, electronics and medical applications.
Among other things, the silica-based nanomaterials will serve as property-enhancing additives in fiber composites used in the automotive and aerospace industries.