Wacker Chemie AG, Munich, Germany, has announced plans to build a new 550-acre hyper-pure polycrystalline silicone facility in Tennessee for approximately $20 million. The company expects to make a mid-term investment in the Cleveland, TN, area of around $1 billion to set up the new plant, thereby creating about 500 new jobs. The size of the site, the availability of reliable power form the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), over-the-fence supply of chlorine from the adjacent OLIN Corp. facility and excellent transportation infrastructure made this an attractive site location.

According to Rudolf Staudigl, president and CEO of Wacker Chemie AG, this site was chosen not only for its well-developed infrastructure, but also because of the outstanding support and cooperation made available by the Bradley County government offices, the Bradley-Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and the State of Tennessee. The package of incentives connected with the land purchase includes provisions for necessary transportation access and a reliable source for water and electric-based energy, which are key resources associated with the production of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon.

“We expect polysilicon demand from the solar and semiconductor industries to further increase in coming years,” said Staudigl. “Purchasing the land is an essential prerequisite to quickly build up additional production capacities outside the Euro zone in line with the projected market trends and growth in demand.”

For more information, visit www.wacker.com.