The German-based specialty chemical maker Wacker Chemie AG plans to invest another $200 million in its Charleston, Tennessee plant and add another 200 jobs to add production of new silicone rubber and sealant, company officials announced Wednesday.
A feasibility study is underway for the first step of Wacker’s plans to expand production within its existing 550-acre riverfront campus in Bradley County, where the company employs about 700 workers.
“The planned expansion measures in Charleston are a further step toward making Charleston a fully integrated site with closed production loops, and an important prerequisite for accelerating our growth as planned,” Wacker CEO Christian Hartel said Wednesday in an announcement of the new investment. “Demand for high-performance specialty silicones is showing particularly strong growth. Such specialties enable innovative, tailor-made solutions in key industries such as automotive, construction, electronics and medical technology.”
The expansion is the second for Wacker since the global chemical giant built its $2.5 billion plant in Charleston a decade ago as the biggest manufacturing facility for the company outside of Germany.
In 2015, Wacker-Charleston began production of hyper-pure polysilicon used in semi-conductor and high-efficiency solar cells. At the time, the German chemical manufacturer was banking on polysilicon sales to serve the growing global solar energy market.