Wacker Starts Constructing New Polysilicon Production Plant in USA

Wacker Starts Constructing New Polysilicon Production Plant in USA

Integrated production site with an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons in the US state of Tennessee; some 650 new jobs to be created through investments of around €1.1 Billion; Completion by end of 2013 planned: Wacker CEO Rudolf Staudigl: “Virtually the entire output of the Tennessee site has been contractually secured for 2014.”

Munich and Cleveland (TN, USA), April 8, 2011 – Today, Wacker Chemie AG officially started construction work on a fully integrated polysilicon-production site in the USA. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by numerous representatives from politics, business and local government. WACKER’s CEO Rudolf Staudigl and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam broke the ground for the large-scale project. The production complex, with an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons, is scheduled for completion by late 2013. The project is the single largest investment in WACKER’s history and is expected to create around 650 new jobs in Cleveland.

As announced earlier, WACKER is also expanding its German facilities at Burghausen and Nünchritz. The total increase there will be 10,000 metric tons per year by 2012. As a result, WACKER’s overall hyperpure polysilicon capacity will rise to 67,000 metric tons by 2014.

Thanks to the new Tennessee site, WACKER will be able to keep pace with the global growth it expects for hyperpure polysilicon. “This expansion is necessary to meet our customers’ future needs for top-quality polysilicon to make high-efficiency solar cells,” says Wacker Chemie AG’s CEO Rudolf Staudigl, explaining the investment decision. According to Staudigl, virtually the entire output of the Tennessee site has been contractually secured for 2014.

“I’m pleased to see the progress Wacker is making with its investment in Tennessee and by the confidence Wacker is showing in Tennessee’s workforce,” said Governor Bill Haslam. “This groundbreaking is an important part of our goal to make Tennessee the number one location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

WACKER manufactured over 30,000 metric tons of hyperpure polysilicon in 2010, making it one of the world’s top producers. With two polysilicon facilities currently under construction in Nünchritz and Cleveland, WACKER is reinforcing its position as a leading supplier of high-quality semiconductor- and solar-grade silicon.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates of WACKER’s Executive Board. Although we assume the expectations in these forward-looking statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee they will prove to be correct. The assumptions may harbor risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual figures to differ considerably from the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include, among other things, changes in the economic and business environment, variations in exchange and interest rates, the introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance for new products or services, and changes in corporate strategy. WACKER does not plan to update the forward-looking statements, nor does it assume the obligation to do so.

For further information, please contact: Wacker Chemie AG Media Relations & Information, Christof Bachmair, Tel. +49 89 6279-1830, Fax +49 89 6279-1239,

www.wacker.com