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Dow Corning Corporation and Wacker Chemie AG today announced they have started construction of 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 1 million square meters, the site is China’s largest facility of this kind and 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.

During a groundbreaking ceremony held in Zhangjiagang today, Dr. Udo Horns, the project’s director for Wacker Chemie AG, emphasized the strategic importance of this investment: “As with siloxane, pyrogenic silica is a key intermediate for manufacturing finished silicone products. The new investment will allow us to better serve our customers’ needs, and to drive the development of the silicone industry in China,” Horns said.

Mr. Brian Austin, Dow Corning Zhangjiagang Site Director, commented: “Key application industries of siloxane and pyrogenic silica include: construction, automotive, electronics, beauty & personal care, healthcare, power & utility, solar, textile, and paper.  Our investment in this site significantly enhances our ability to meet our customers’ needs of using silicone to enhance the performance of their own products and also to help spur the growth of many key industries in this region. It demonstrates our commitment as a company to sustainable development, using our long history of expertise and technology know-how to create environmental, economic and social benefits wherever we operate.”

Pyrogenic silica is a nano-structured specialty chemical. It can be used as an active filler in silicone elastomers, a viscosity-adjusting agent in coatings, printing inks, adhesives, unsaturated polyester resins and plastisols or as a flow aid, for example in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food-processing industries.

Both companies also own and manufacturing plants for finished silicone products at the Zhangjiagang site. Marketing and sales are undertaken independently by each company.

About Dow Corning

Dow Corning provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the company’s Dow Corning® and XIAMETER® brands. Dow Corning is a joint venture equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual sales are outside the United States.

WACKER (www.wacker.com) is a globally operating chemical company headquartered in Munich, Germany. With a wide range of state-of-the-art specialty products, WACKER is a leader in numerous industrial sectors. Its products support countless high-growth end-user sectors such as photovoltaics, electronics, pharmaceuticals and household/personal care products. The WACKER Group posted sales of around €4.3 billion in 2008, of which some 80 percent were generated outside Germany. WACKER employs around 15,900 people at 27 production sites in Europe, the Americas and Asia, and about 100 sales offices worldwide. Wacker Chemie AG is listed on the Frankfurt (Germany) Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000WCH8881).

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