International. Wacker Chemie AG reported that it is expanding its existing polymer binder production plants in South Korea. The Munich-based chemical company plans to build a new spray dryer for dispersible powders at its ulsan headquarters. The dryer will have a total capacity of 80,000 metric tons per year.
Wacker also plans to build an additional reactor for vinyl-ethylene acetate (VAE) copolymer-based dispersions. Its dispersions will be used in the spray dryer for the production of dispersible polymeric powders. Due to the new reactor, Ulsan's VAE dispersion capacity will more than double.
Ulsan's plant complex, which covers the entire product chain from VAE dispersions to polymeric dispersible powders, will be one of the largest of its kind worldwide. Capital expenditures of some €60 million are budgeted for increased capacity and for the expansion of local infrastructure. Scheduled to begin before the end of the year, construction work is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2019.
"Our investment in the expansion of our polymer production facilities in Ulsan is a key step in our global growth strategy," said Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of Wacker Chemie AG. "The additional capacity will strengthen our position in the polymer dispersion and dispersible powder manufacturing market, and help us meet the growing demand of our Asian customers in the long term," Emphasized.
