Germany’s Wacker Chemie has opened a new production site for silicone elastomers at Jincheon in South Korea. The company has invested around €15 million in the site, which is located southeast of Seoul.

“The opening of our new plant is a milestone for us and sends a signal to our customers that we want to continue growing in Asia and in South Korea especially,” said executive board member, Christian Hartel, adding that the company generates about 40% of its sales in Asia.

Wacker said strong growth in demand, which is stretching production to its limits, required that the company move to a different site. The new facility in Jincheon is four times as big as the previous one and provides enough space for future capacity expansions.

“Jincheon offers the space and technical facilities we need to meet the rising demand for silicones in the region in the long term. With this investment, we can broaden the regional scope of our silicones business continuously and strengthen our presence as a leading silicone manufacturer in South Korea and Asia,” said executive board member, Auguste Willems.

Silicone sealants for the construction industry and specialty silicone elastomers for electronic applications will be manufactured in separate facilities on the site. Hyperpure silicones are produced and packaged in a dedicated cleanroom, which Wacker said is a service that is becoming increasingly important for customers in the electronics sector in particular.

Last month, the company opened a new silicone plant at its Amtala site near Kolkata in India. The hydrosilylation plant for manufacturing functional silicone fluids has a capacity of more than 6,000 t/y. It was installed to meet growing regional demand for specialty silicones in the textile, personal care, rigid and flexible polyurethane foam sectors as well as in agrochemicals sectors. Wacker invested about €6 million in the facility.