WACKER to build new Production Plant for Polysilicon in Nünchritz

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companies/Production Capacity Expansion

München (euro adhoc) - - NEW PRODUCTION PLANT WITH ANNUAL CAPACITY OF
10,000 METRIC TONS AT WACKER´S NÜNCHRITZ SITE - SOME 450 NEW JOBS
EXPECTED FROM EUR760 MILLION INVESTMENT - NOMINAL ANNUAL-CAPACITY
TARGET FOR BURGHAUSEN´S EXPANSION STAGE 8 CURRENTLY UNDER
CONSTRUCTION UPPED FROM 7,000 to 10,000 METRIC TONS - CEO RUDOLF
STAUDIGL: "WE EXPECT CRYSTALLINE SOLAR TECHNOLOGY TO SHOW CONTINUED
STRONG GROWTH"

Munich, October 17, 2008 - Wacker Chemie AG plans to construct a new
polysilicon production plant at its Nünchritz site (Saxony, Germany)
with a nominal annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons. The
Munich-based chemical company announced this decision today. The
first batch of polysilicon from this "capacity expansion phase 9"
project is scheduled for Q1 2011. The new plant is expected to
achieve full capacity by the end of 2011. WACKER has budgeted some
EUR760 million for this project, which should create around 450 new
jobs. The company has additionally decided to raise the nominal
annual capacity planned for Burghausen´s "expansion phase 8"
(currently under construction) from 7,000 to 10,000 metric tons.
Thanks to these and other ongoing expansion measures, WACKER´s
polysilicon capacity by year-end 2011 will reach 35,500 metric tons
annually, compared to today´s 10,000 metric tons.

Output expansion will enable WACKER to meet the accelerating global
demand it expects for hyperpure polycrystalline silicon. For coming
years, WACKER anticipates continued double-digit annual growth in
polysilicon demand by the solar-industry. The company likewise
expects higher polysilicon demand from the electronics industry.

"We expect crystalline solar technology to show continued strong
growth and customer demand for polysilicon to remain high," said Dr.
Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of Wacker Chemie AG. "Already the world´s
second-largest polysilicon producer, we intend to reinforce and
extend our market position by intensifying capacity expansion.
Nünchritz´s highly advanced infrastructure and integrated production
loops make it the logical choice for this expansion from a business
and technical viewpoint." According to the CEO, the closed material
loops obtained by perfectly integrating the new facility into
Nünchritz´s existing production environment will not only be highly
resource-efficient but also essential for achieving the
lowest-possible polysilicon manufacturing costs.

For over 50 years, WACKER has been producing hyperpure
polycrystalline silicon for the semiconductor industry. With rising
solar-silicon demand, WACKER POLYSILICON has been expanding capacity
step by step and, since 2000, increasingly supplying the
photovoltaics industry. Supplementing Burghausen, Nünchritz will be
WACKER´s second site to manufacture solar silicon. The German state
of Saxony, in which it is located, is among the world´s leading
solar-industry centers.

WACKER in Nünchritz At Nünchritz, WACKER SILICONES (a WACKER
division) produces pyrogenic silica, chlorosilanes, silicates,
silicone fluids, silicone emulsions, antifoam agents, siliconates and
silicone rubber, as well as the necessary precursors. In the past 10
years, WACKER has invested more than EUR550 million to transform this
site into one of the world´s largest and most modern silicone
production complexes. The Munich-based chemical company currently
employs some 930 staff in Nünchritz.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Wacker Chemie AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Corporate Communications

Tel.: +49 (0)89 6279 1830

E-Mail: christof.bachmair@wacker.com

Branche: Chemicals
ISIN: DE000WCH8881
WKN: WCH888
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