Germany's Wacker Chemie is building a new 3,800 t/y plant for specialty monomers at its Burghausen site. The new €8 million unit will produce vinyl neodecanoate and vinyl laurate, key raw materials for production of specific dispersible polymer powders.

The new facility scheduled for start-up in the second quarter of 2015 will manufacture the monomers using the company's proprietary technology, and output will be earmarked for captive use.

The investment is designed to enable the company to meet increasing demand for high-quality polymeric binders and will strengthen its market position as the world's leading manufacturer of dispersible polymer powders as well as its cost position, Wacker said.

Demand for the monomers said to confer special properties on Wacker's dispersible polymer powders is being driven by worldwide trends such as urbanization, renovation and energy efficiency.

Construction of the new plant is an important strategic step," said Christoph Riemer, head of dispersible polymer powder business at Wacker Polymers. Having in-house supply "makes us more independent of raw-material price fluctuations and boosts supply security during peak-demand periods," he added.

Wacker has been producing dispersible polymer powders as binders for dry-mix mortars in Burghausen since 1957 and regards itself as a global technology and market leader in the field.