On Nov. 16, Wacker opened its new dispersible powder and vinyl acetate ethylene dispersion plant in Nanjing, China. With an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons of dispersible powder, the Nanjing plant is the largest of its kind in China, according to the company. The aim of this project is to secure long-term Vinnapas polymer-powder capacity and to guarantee Asia-Pacific customers consistently high delivery reliability and product quality in the future, too. Wacker ranks among the world’s largest producers of dispersible polymer powders for the construction industry.

Located in the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park, the new Wacker Nanjing site covers an area of 100,000 square meters. First phase investment of this production complex, which serves the entire product line from vinyl acetate ethylene dispersions to dispersible powders is over €50 million. Wacker already has a staff of nearly 100 employees at its Nanjing facility.

Vinnapas polymer powders are thermoplastic, plasticizer-free polymers derived primarily from vinyl acetate and ethylene. China’s growing demand for Vinnapas dispersible polymer powders is chiefly due to the need for dependable, lightweight and energy-efficient building materials. Increasingly, Chinese houses are being lined with exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS). Vinnapas is a major component of the specialty mortars used in these systems. The dispersible polymer powder ensures that the individual layers, which make up such systems, are bonded together permanently.

“A secure and high quality supply of polymer powders is essential for the further development of China’s fast growing construction industry and for China’s tremendous efforts to save energy,” said Auguste Willems, member of Wacker Chemie AG’s executive board in a statement. “This new site will provide a reliable supply chain backbone for Wacker Polymers in China over the next years with an increasingly competitive cost position and flexibility to better meet the local market demands.”