- WACKER Chemie AG has started up a new specialty-monomer plant in Burghausen, Germany with an annual capacity of 3,800 metric tons
- The plant produces key raw materials for specialty dispersible polymer powders
- The investment in the facility strengthens WACKER's position as the world's biggest producer of dispersible polymer powders
- The plant enhances WACKER's production operations by using a novel process based on vinyl acetate
Munich and Burghausen - Wacker Chemie AG has officially started up a new specialty-monomer plant with an annual capacity of 3,800 metric tons at its Burghausen site in Germany.The specialty monomers vinyl neodecanoate and vinyl laurate are key raw materials in the manufacture of specialty dispersible polymer powders. The goal of the new plant is to ensure that WACKER has sufficient specialty-binder capacity available, both now and in the future, to provide its customers with a secure, long-term supply of high-quality products. WACKER invested some €8 million in the facility and has, as a result, strengthened its position as the world’s biggest producer of dispersible polymer powders.
Christoph Riemer, head of polymer-powder business at WACKER POLYMERS, stresses how strategically important the new production facility is: “With our new specialty-monomer plant, we now have the capacity we need to secure long-term a captive supply of these raw materials, which are important for polymer-powder production at Burghausen. In addition, the facility reinforces our leading market and cost positions sustainably.”
Bors C. Abele, head of acetyls business at WACKER POLYMERS, adds: “We have developed and patented our own novel process for the new plant based on vinyl acetate – a raw material that we actually produce ourselves on site. The process makes our production operations markedly more flexible and self-sufficient compared with conventional processes elsewhere.”
WACKER has been producing dispersible polymer powders as binders for dry-mix mortars in Burghausen, Germany, since 1957 and, today, is a global technology and market leader in this field. VINNAPAS® polymer powders find use in various construction applications such as tile adhesives, self-leveling flooring compounds, plasters, repair mortars, external thermal insulation composite systems and cementitious sealing slurries. They enhance important end-product properties, such as adhesion, cohesion, flexibility and flexural strength. Water retention, processing properties and weatherability benefit from VINNAPAS®, too.
