In response to increased demand, Germany’s Wacker Chemie (Munich; www.wacker.com) said it will spend more than EUR 100 mn on various projects to increase the production of silicone rubber. The company did not disclose details on individual expansion measures.

The investments are part of the company’s growth strategy announced at the end of March. “We finished 2021 with record sales and strong earnings,” CEO Christian Hertel said. “We want to maintain this momentum.”

Additional capacity for liquid silicone rubber is to be available at the German site before the end of 2022, the company said, noting that several systems have already been expanded and are expected to reach their full output by year’s end. More output is to be available next year at the US site in Adrian, Michigan and will primarily supply customers in North and Central America.

A production expansion is also planned for high consistency rubber (HCR), with a new plant in Panagar, India, to start up soon. Additional capacity for the material is to be added at the beginning of next year in Pilsen, the Czech Republic, where Wacker makes Silmix brand silicone compounds, and in Tzukuba, Japan, which produces silicone emulsions, solid and liquid silicone rubbers, and room-temperature-vulcanising silicone masses.

Wacker said it is also considering silicone rubber expansions at the Verbund sites in Burghausen, Germany; Zhangjiagang, China, and the US facility in Charleston, Tennessee. Plans for the long-term expansion of pyrogenic silica production in Zhangjiagang are also under review. Wacker currently manufactures the silicone filler in Burghausen, Charleston, Zhangjiagang, and Nünchritz, Germany.