ADRIAN, MI – Wacker Chemie AG, Munich, Germany, and its North American headquarters office, Wacker Chemical Corp., Adrian, MI, have announced construction of a new 67,000-square-foot Wacker Polymers America headquarters facility in the Lehigh Valley, PA, area of Allentown. The new facility is being developed to bring the company’s North America-based Wacker Polymers operations together under one roof. The decision to construct the new facility and remain in the Allentown area follows the acquisition, announced earlier this year, by Wacker Chemie AG of Air Products Polymers (APP) and Wacker Polymer Systems (WPS), its two former joint ventures with Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
 
The new single-story facility is being built in the Lehigh Valley Allentown area on a site in Upper Macungie Township and will house both research and development and applications testing laboratories. The space will also support sales and marketing and business support functions. It is expected to be completed in the summer of 2009.
 
Wacker Polymers is one of five operating divisions of Wacker Chemie AG and is part of Wacker Chemical Corp., Adrian, MI, its North American headquarters operation. The Adrian, MI, site includes a main manufacturing plant, research and development, applications testing labs, technical service, a distribution center, and administrative and sales and marketing offices.
 
The Wacker Polymers Allentown Lehigh Valley facility and staff will concentrate its sales, product and market development focus in strategic global and domestic industries calling for environmentally friendly high-quality dispersions, binders, polymer additives and dispersible powders. These industries include construction chemicals, coatings, adhesives, paints, plasters and nonwoven textiles.