WACKER Strengthens Silicone Business by Acquiring a Stake in Chinese Specialty Silane Manufacturer

"Our new partnership with SICO is a consistent step in our strategy to further expand the share of high-margin specialties in our silicone business worldwide," explains Christian Hartel, WACKER's President & CEO. "SICO is a leading manufacturer of organofunctional silanes in China, which are a key component in high-performance adhesives, sealants, coatings, and composites. WACKER, in turn, also has decades of experience in this field. Up to now, however, we have manufactured organofunctional silanes exclusively in Germany. By acquiring a stake in SICO, we are now further expanding our range of high-performance specialty products in Asia and moving closer to our customers in these fast-growing consumer markets."

Founded in 2013, SICO Performance Material produces a range of organo-functional silanes at the Jining New Material Industrial Park in the Chinese province of Shandong, which are used, for example, in the construction, automotive, semiconductor, and electronics industries. The company, which is one of the leading suppliers in this field in China, has grown strongly in recent years, operates very profitably and generates a positive cash flow. In 2020, SICO posted annual sales of €54 million.

"We are very pleased to join forces with WACKER," says Qu Yuan, Chairman of SICO Performance Material. "WACKER is one of the global market and technology leaders in silicones. Together, we will further expand our specialty silane portfolio."

WACKER will finance the investment from its free cashflow. As the joint venture is a majority-owned company, WACKER will fully consolidate it in its consolidated financial statements after the transaction is completed.

About organofunctional silanes

WACKER produces and markets organofunctional silanes under its GENIOSIL® brand. GENIOSIL® organofunctional silanes are hybrid compounds that combine the functionality of a reactive organic group with the inorganic functionality of an alkyl silicate in a single molecule. This allows them to be used as molecular bridges between organic polymers and inorganic materials. The bridging property of the organofunctional silanes is crucial in many applications. For example, GENIOSIL® silanes are adhesion promoters, curing agents and water scavengers, and are therefore an important component of adhesives and sealants, surface coatings, and composites. They are also used for coating fillers and for producing crosslinkable polyethylene in the plastics industry.