Wacker strengthens silicone business in China with new speciality silanes tech centre

Munich, Germany - Wacker Chemie AG and Chinese speciality silane producer Sico Performance Material have opened a new application development centre for organofunctional silanes in Jining, China.

The Wacker-Sico Application Development Centre (ADC) features several laboratories and will focus on developing “high-performance additives” for the plastics, coatings and adhesives industries, said Wacker 1 Dec.

In addition, the 2,300 sq.m. technology centre will act as “an interface” between research, technical support and production, said the German chemicals supplier.

For instance, Wacker said Sico’s production and scale-up resources, which are also located in Jining, can be leveraged for development work.

As a result, the centre “enables the rapid market launch of new products,” it added.

Wacker said it invested “a mid-six-figure euro sum” in the new unit.

“As a provider of innovative silicone specialities and solutions, we can use this development centre to achieve a key milestone for our business in China,” said Tom Koini, president of Wacker’s Silicones business division.

Koini went on to add that demand for “high-margin speciality silanes” is rising in China and the investment will strengthen Wacker’s presence in the country.

According to Wacker, Jining-based Sico Performance Material is a “leading producer” of speciality silanes in China and the German supplier has held a majority stake in the company since 2022.

Organofunctional silanes improve the mechanical and chemical properties of products and are used, among other applications, as adhesion promoters in high-performance adhesives, sealants and coatings, as well as binders for composite materials.