German chemical company Wacker and Chinese specialty silane producer and joint-venture partner SICO Performance Material have opened a new application development center for organofunctional silanes in Jining, China. The approximately 2,300-square-meter facility comprises several laboratories dedicated to the development of high-performance additives for the plastics, coatings and adhesives industries. The technology center is designed as an interface between research, technical support and production so that development work can draw directly on SICO’s production and scale-up resources, which are likewise located in Jining. According to the partners, this setup is intended to shorten development cycles and enable the rapid market launch of new specialty silane products. Investments in the Wacker SICO Application Development Center facility total a mid-six-figure euro sum.
“As a provider of innovative silicone specialties and solutions, we can use this development center to achieve a key milestone for our business in China. Our focus is on high-margin specialty silanes, for which demand in China is rising continuously. This investment together with our partner SICO strengthens our presence and commitment to the region”, says Tom Koini, President of Wacker’s silicones business division.
Focus on specialty silanes for plastics, coatings and adhesives
Wacker and SICO Performance Material have decades of experience in organofunctional silanes. These materials are used, for example, as adhesion promoters in the production of high-performance adhesives, sealants and coatings, as binders for composite materials or as additives to enhance plastics. Because specialty silanes can improve the mechanical and chemical properties of end products, demand for such hybrid polymers has been rising for many years in a range of industrial applications.
The application development center in Jining focuses on additives, adhesion promoters and stabilizers based on organofunctional silanes and functional silicone fluids. The resulting formulations target high-quality adhesives and sealants, coatings and plastic products. These are subsequently used in a number of high-tech sectors, including electromobility, electronics, power engineering, telecommunications and coatings applications that require enhanced durability or specific performance characteristics.
“The opening of our Application Development Center in Jining enables us to strengthen our position as a specialties manufacturer in China,” said Koini. “In partnership with SICO, we can now support customers even better in the development and marketing of innovative products.” The new laboratories are expected to provide closer technical cooperation with customers, from formulation development and application testing through to adaptation for industrial-scale manufacturing.
German chemical group Wacker and Chinese specialty-silane manufacturer and joint-venture partner SICO Performance Material have opened a new organofunctional silanes application development center in China.
Integration with Jining production site
The 2,300-square-meter application development center is located in Jining, close to SICO Performance Material’s own production site. This proximity allows development teams to make use of existing production and scale-up resources, which can be integrated into the development process at an early stage. In addition to application know-how, the center’s experts have extensive knowledge in production and process engineering, including aspects related to the manufacture, handling and use of organofunctional silanes in different formulations.
At the opening ceremony, Kevin Qu, General Manager of SICO Performance Material, described the new laboratories as an investment in the future and the cornerstone of a new phase of cooperation between Wacker and SICO. “We can now pool all of our silane expertise here at our application development center. This know-how ranges from chemical product properties and supply chain matters through to questions of process engineering and current marketing trends. We will leverage this in-depth knowledge to develop forward-looking innovations for our customers. This marks a new chapter of success in the history of our joint venture.”
By concentrating research, technical service and production-related competencies in one location, the partners aim to address customer requirements along the entire value chain, from material selection and formulation through to application engineering. The joint venture structure is intended to support the regional market more directly, in particular in China’s fast-growing segments that rely on advanced silane-based additives and adhesion technologies.
Jining-based SICO Performance Material is one of China’s leading producers of specialty silanes. Wacker has held a majority stake in the company since 2022
