On Oct. 21, Wacker Chemie AG and Dow Corning Corp. officially started construction on the second phase of their pyrogenic silica plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, China. The pyrogenic silica plant, together with a siloxane plant, is a key facility of an integrated silicone manufacturing site developed by both companies at Jiangsu Yangtze River Chemical Industrial Park in Zhangjiagang to produce materials used extensively in industries including construction, beauty and personal care, power, and automotives. Covering an area of one million square meters, the site is China’s largest facility of this kind, and it is among the world’s largest and most-advanced integrated production complexes for silicones.

The overall nameplate capacity for both siloxane and pyrogenic silica, including the second phase silica plant, is expected to be approximately 210,000 metric tons per year. Investments from both partners for the new pyrogenic silica production plant will amount to a mid-double-digit million Euro sum.

For more information, visitwww.wacker.com.