Wacker expands Indian site to produce silicone emulsions

Munich, Germany – Wacker Chemie AG has expanded its Panagarh site in northeastern India to produce silicone emulsions, as it moves to position the facility as a key silicones supply hub in the country.

The newly constructed facility produces silicones for the cosmetics and personal care industries, said the German chemicals group in a 23 March statement.

Wacker said the new plant will increase its silicone emulsion production capacities in India “significantly,” but did not provide further capacity details.

The new plant marks a second expansion phase at the Indian site, which also produces silicone rubber.

According to Wacker, the products manufactured at the new 15,000 sq.m. complex “fully comply with good manufacturing practice (GMP) guidelines” of the European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients (EFfCI).

The German group noted that the site will produce “top-quality, high-purity products” which it said are “in great demand,” particularly in the cosmetics and personal care industries.

The personal care industry, it noted, is “one of the main pillars” of its silicone business in India.

The Panagarh site is operated by the fully consolidated joint venture Wacker Metroark Chemicals (WMC) and supplies silicone raw materials for cosmetic products, shampoos, and personal-care applications.

Wacker began its silicones production in India in 1999. At the Amtala site near Kolkata, the company has been manufacturing silicone fluids, emulsions, and silicone rubber compounds, among other products.

In 2022, Wacker began operations at its 165,000 sq.m. site in Panagarh, where it has been producing silicone rubber and ready-to-use silicone compounds for the electromobility, medical technology, and electrical power supply industries.

Wacker said that, with the commissioning of the second phase and further expansion measures, it intends to make the Panagarh site its main silicones supplier in the region.

The Amtala site will increasingly focus on product and process development.

“The successful completion of the expansion work in Panagarh is key to our future success in India,” said Sascha Buechel, managing director of Wacker Metroark.

While the Amtala site is “increasingly being stretched to its limits,” Buechel said the Panagarh facility provides Wacker with “the space, infrastructure, and flexibility we need… in India.”