According to the companies, work on the joint venture started four years ago and today saw the official opening of the site.
The facility includes a siloxane manufacturing plant and a pyrogenic silica plant which are jointly owned by the two companies, in addition to separately owned and independently operate silicone production plants.
End markets for the ingredients produced at the site include cosmetics and personal care, as well as the automotive, construction and electronics industries.
Help serve China and other Asian markets
The companies claim that the motivation behind the joint venture was to better serve the growing markets in China and other parts of Asia, and expect the site to produce 210,000 metric tons of siloxane and pyrogenic silica per year at capacity.
DOW Corning CEO Dr Stephanie Burns highlighted the different economic environment at inauguration compared to the when the project was first started.
“While the economic environment has changed a lot since we broke ground here four years ago, our commitment to and faith in China’s future has never changed,” she said.
“Throughout China and in many other parts of Asia, we see an increasing number of manufacturers using silicones to improve the performance of their products. Our investment in this site significantly enhances our ability to meet that need and to spur growth in many key industries in this region,” she added.
According to Wacker CEO Dr Rudolf Staudigl, the facility will help grow the company’s local business.