Wacker Chemie has broken ground at a €1.1bn ($1.6bn) polysilicon factory in Tennessee, with construction due to be finished by 2013.. The new facility will become Wacker's first polysilicon plant outside Germany, as it looks to keep pace with fast-growing Chinese competitors such as GCL-Poly and LDK Solar, and smooth out fluctuations between its dollar- and euro-denominated sales.
The plant, located in Cleveland, will be capable of producing 15,000 tonnes of polysilicon a year when it comes on line, adding to the 30,500 tonnes the company churned out last year..
Munich-based
