EANS-News: WACKER Starts Polysilicon Production at its Nünchritz Site
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company Information Subtitle: - New production facilities boost WACKER's annual capacity by 15,000 metric tons - Investment of some 900 million creates more than 500 new jobs at Nünchritz plant - WACKER CEO Rudolf Staudigl: Production started ahead of schedule thanks to our extensive technological expertise and our experienced engineering and production teams Nünchritz (euro adhoc) - October 10, 2011 - Wacker Chemie AG has begun producing hyperpure polycrystalline silicon at its Nünchritz site, the Munich-based Group announced today. First deposition reactors at the new production complex have already ramped up production of high-quality polysilicon for sale. The full nominal capacity of some 15,000 metric tons annually is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2012. The start of production is three months earlier than WACKER's very ambitious original timetable. All in all, WACKER has invested about EUR900 million in these new production facilities creating more than 500 new jobs as a result. Rudolf Staudigl, President and CEO of Wacker Chemie AG, explained to journalists in Nünchritz on Monday: "This expansion of capacity is instrumental to continue meeting our customers´ strong demand for top-quality and highly efficient solar-grade polysilicon in the years to come. Our extensive technological expertise as well as our highly experienced teams of engineers and production staff allowed us to initiate production sooner than expected." As previously announced, WACKER decided in March of this year to rise production output at the Nünchritz site from an initial target of 10,000 metric tons to 15,000 metric tons per year. This rise in capacity will be achieved by taking debottlenecking measures within the integrated production network at the site. WACKER´s entire polysilicon output, including that from Nünchritz, is almost completely under contract until the end of 2015. The new production complex utilizes highly integrated material flows. This means that manufacturing by-products are reprocessed and then reused as starting materials in the value chain. Doing so lowers costs while conserving resources, and, as a consequence, sharpens WACKER's competitive edge in polysilicon production. WACKER targets to produce more than 33,000 metric tons of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon in 2011 making it one of the largest manufacturers in the world. Thanks to its new production complex in Nünchritz and the polysilicon site currently under construction in Charleston (Tennessee, USA), WACKER is strenghtening its position as a leading manufacturer of high-quality semiconductor silicon and solar silicon. WACKER in Nünchritz Founded as a chemical facility in 1900, the Nünchritz site became part of the WACKER Group in 1998. Approximately EUR1.4 billion have been invested in the Nünchritz plant in the meantime, making it one of the world's largest and most modern production sites for silicones and hyperpure polycrystalline silicon. More than 1,400 people work at WACKER Nünchritz. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates of WACKER´s Executive Board. Although we assume the expectations in these forward-looking statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee they will prove to be correct. The assumptions may harbor risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual figures to differ considerably from the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include, among other things, changes in the economic and business environment, variations in exchange and interest rates, the introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance for new products or services, and changes in corporate strategy. WACKER does not plan to update the forward-looking statements, nor does it assume the obligation to do so. Further inquiry note: Christof Bachmair Media Relations & Information Tel.: +49 (0)89 6279 1830 E-Mail: christof.bachmair@wacker.com end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: Wacker Chemie AG Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4 D-81737 München phone: +49 (0) 89 6279 01 FAX: +49 (0) 89 6279 1770 mail: info@wacker.com WWW: http://www.wacker.com sector: Chemicals ISIN: DE000WCH8881 indexes: MDAX, CDAX, Prime All Share stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Hannover, München, regulated dealing: Berlin language: English
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