ANN ARBOR, MI – Wacker Chemical Corp. (WACKER) recently held a grand opening of its new Innovation Center and Regional Headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Corporate leadership hosted Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, along with several other state, county and township officials, in conducting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and touring the site. Construction of the 140,000-square-foot site began in December 2020, and WACKER team members moved into the building in mid-April 2022.
The technology campus covers 18 acres and serves as the hub of leadership and innovation for WACKER’s North and Central Americas (NCA) region. The state-of-the-art center currently houses more than 200 team members, including the company’s NCA senior leadership team, chemists, IT and other technical experts, and support functions.
The $50-million-plus investment allows chemists, scientists and senior leadership that had previously worked out of three separate Michigan locations to collaborate in a single space and provides room for the expansion and growth expected by WACKER. The Innovation Center includes world-class labs, a full-service cafeteria, a fitness center, and open collaborative work spaces.
WACKER will continue to produce elastomers, silicone fluids and silicone emulsions out of its existing operations in Adrian, Michigan, where the regional headquarters was located previously. The Adrian site, established in 1969, remains a growing base of operations for the approximately 275 employees managing production there for the company’s WACKER SILICONES division.
“We are pleased to formally open this world-class Innovation Center today to our valued partners,” said Wacker Chemical Corp. President & CEO David Wilhoit. “The site will serve as an important anchor for our growing operations across North and Central America. This area is home to dozens of research facilities and educational institutions, making it one of the leading communities in Michigan and the entire nation for R&D, enabling the company to network with, and recruit from among, the best high-tech talent in the nation.”
Learn more at www.wacker.com.