Dow Corning Corp. and Wacker Chemie AG have officially inaugurated their joint, integrated silicone manufacturing site in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, China. The facility will serve the fast-growing demand for silicone materials in China, India and Asia.

According to the companies, the facility is among the world’s biggest and most advanced integrated silicone production sites and, at 1 million square meters, is the largest facility of its kind in China. The $1.8 billion combined investment by Dow Corning and WACKER includes a jointly owned siloxane and pyrogenic silica plant, in addition to finished silicone production plants owned and operated independently by each company.

Production at the Zhangjiagang site is intended to increase the global supply of silicone materials by providing the additional capacity needed to support rapidly growing industries in China and Asia, and by freeing up capacity and resources in the Americas and Europe to stabilize supply to customers in those regions.

For additional details, visitwww.wacker.comorwww.dowcorning.com.