Expansion pipeline for silicones

London – This silicones industry has been in expansion mode over recent months, with several major suppliers announcing new investment projects.

On 5 Sept, speciality chemicals company Evonik Industries AG opened a new plant in Shanghai for production of a range of organically modified speciality silicones.

Germany-based Evonik said it had invested a “two-digit million-euro amount” in constructing the new 32,000-sq.-ft. plant, which was completed in about one year.

Another German producer, Munich-based Wacker Chemie AG announced 16 Aug that it had expanded its technical centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The project features a new ISO-certified lab for developing and testing silicone elastomers for industries such as energy, mould-making and automotive.

Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. is building a production plant in the US city of Akron, Ohio. The €18m expansion will be geared towards manufacturing and sales of silicones in the US and will completed in the middle of 2019.

And Ohio-based Lubrizol Corp is investing $10 million to significantly expand capacity at its silicone contract-manufacturing site in Franklin, Wisconsin. The company said 23 Aug that the investment will be made through medical device manufacturer Vesta, acquired in 2014.