MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (WMC) has expanded its existing silicone production at its Amtala site near Kolkata, India, with a new hydrosilylation plant for manufacturing functional silicone fluids, as per GV.
The plant with an annual capacity of over 6,000 t was officially opened on 20 March 2018.
According to the company, the expansion is a response to growing regional demand for speciality silicones for use in the textile, personal-care, rigid and flexible polyurethane foam, and agrochemical sectors. In PU foams, e.g., for car interior trim and insulation materials, functional silicone fluids serve as additives for adjusting the cell structure. The investment for the plant amounted to around EUR 6 million.
"With this expansion of our production, we are broadening our product portfolio and can thereby open up new markets in the growth regions of India and Southeast Asia," said Christian Hartel, Executive Board member at Wacker Chemie AG.
WMC has its registered office and production facilities near Kolkata, while sales are headquartered in Mumbai. The company is responsible for all marketing and sales activities in the Indian subcontinent relating to Wacker silicones. Wacker owns a 51 % share in the joint venture, which was set up in 1998 and is active in Greater India's most important trade centers, maintaining sales offices and warehouses in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, as well as a liaison office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. WMC currently has 260 employees.
As MRC wrote before, Wacker Chemie AG is expanding its existing production plants for dispersions and dispersible polymer powders in South Korea. In early November 2017, Wacker celebrated the official start of construction on the major project during a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony. The Group is building a new spray dryer for dispersible polymer powders at its Ulsan site, which will have a total capacity of 80,000 metric tons per year. The Munich-based chemicals company is also constructing an additional reactor for dispersions based on vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (EVA), which are needed as the raw material for the spray dryer to produce dispersible polymer powders.
Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC