Joint Press Release by WACKER and SCHOTT
- SCHOTT WACKER Solar to produce multicrystalline silicon wafers for solar
cells
- €370 million investment to create at least 700 new jobs
- Production start-up in 2007
- Capacity expansion phased to reach 1 gigawatt per year by 2012 =
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Munich / Mainz (euro adhoc) - August 2nd, 2007 - Wacker Chemie AG and SCHOTT
Solar, a 100 percent subsidiary of the worldwide SCHOTT group, plan to set up
two joint ventures to produce and market silicon wafers for solar applications.
WACKER and SCHOTT signed a related agreement today. Over the next years, the two
partners plan to invest a total of EUR370 million in facilities in Jena
(Thuringia) and Alzenau (Bavaria), creating at least 700 new jobs at these
German sites. The project is subject to approval by the German and European
authorities. The joint venture - SCHOTT WACKER Solar GmbH - is scheduled to
start operations this year. It will produce multicrystalline silicon ingots and
wafers, the starting material for solar cells. Solar-wafer production capacity
is set to expand in stages, reaching about one gigawatt/year by 2012. This will
make the joint venture one of the world´s five largest solar-wafer
manufacturers.
Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker, Wacker Chemie AG´s president & CEO, emphasized the
joint venture´s importance for his company. "WACKER is the world's
second-largest supplier of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon and a pioneer in
the manufacture of solar-grade polysilicon. Our forward integration - with a
strong partner - into solar-wafer production is vital to our strategy of
creating corporate value in this growth sector. The recently announced
expansions of our polysilicon production capacity to more than 22,000 metric
tons per year ensure the joint venture´s starting material supply."
Prof. Udo Ungeheuer, president & CEO of SCHOTT, stated that he was extremely
pleased about the new joint venture. "Given polysilicon´s actual global
scarcity, a reliable supply of this raw material is essential to SCHOTT Solar´s
ambitious growth targets in the photovoltaic sector," he explained. "Combined
with our current capacity expansions for solar cells and modules in Alzenau and
Valasské Mezirící in the Czech Republic, the joint venture will play a decisive
role in strengthening SCHOTT Solar´s position as one of the world´s leading
manufacturers of solar-energy components."
WACKER will supply SCHOTT WACKER Solar GmbH with the hyperpure polycrystalline
silicon it needs to produce wafers. The major part of the joint venture´s wafers
will be used by SCHOTT Solar to make solar cells. Solar wafers, however, will
also be sold to other solar-cell producers in order to capitalize on growth
opportunities and related scale effects. To this end, WACKER and SCHOTT plan to
establish a separate joint venture, WACKER SCHOTT Solar GmbH.
WACKER and SCHOTT each will hold a 50 percent equity stake in the production
joint venture SCHOTT WACKER Solar GmbH, while in the sales joint venture WACKER
will hold 51 percent and SCHOTT 49 percent. The production joint venture
includes SCHOTT's existing facilities in Alzenau for producing solar wafers and
those in Jena for producing multicrystalline silicon ingots. SCHOTT WACKER Solar
plans to expand the existing production and to set up new facilities for
blocking and wafering.
At its SmartSolarFab® in Alzenau, SCHOTT manufactures wafers using its advanced
EFG process (Edge defined Film-fed Growth). This method differs from the
conventional approach where silicon wafers are sawn from an ingot. Instead, a
silicon film in the form of an octagonal hollow tube is pulled directly from the
silicon melt. A laser then cuts out the wafers. The EFG process delivers several
advantages. It greatly reduces material loss, for example, and features a highly
efficient use of silicon.
SCHOTT in Brief
SCHOTT (www.schott.com) is an international technology group that sees its core
purpose as the lasting improvement of living and working conditions. For this
purpose special materials, components and systems are developed. The main areas
of focus are the household appliances industry, optics and opto-electronics,
pharmaceuticals and solar energy. SCHOTT is one of the world´s leading
manufacturers of photovoltaic components. The SCHOTT Group has a presence in
proximity to its customers through its production and sales companies in all its
major markets. It has approximately 16,800 employees producing worldwide sales
of approximately 2.2 billion euros. The company´s technological and economic
expertise is closely linked with its social and ecological responsibility.
WACKER in Brief
WACKER (www.wacker.com) is a globally active chemical company headquartered in
Munich. With a wide range of state-of-the-art specialty products, WACKER is a
leader in numerous industrial sectors. Its products are required in many
high-growth end-user sectors such as photovoltaics, electronics, pharmaceuticals
and household/personal care products. The Group´s WACKER POLYSILICON business
division is the world's second-largest producer of hyperpure polycrystalline
silicon for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries. In 2006, WACKER Group
posted sales of some EUR3.34 billion, with approx. 80 percent being earned
outside Germany. WACKER has about 14,700 employees at (currently) 22 production
sites in Europe, the Americas and Asia and at some 100 sales offices worldwide.
Wacker Chemie AG´s shares (ISIN: DE000WCH8881) are listed on the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange.
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and
estimates made by the executive boards of WACKER and SCHOTT. Although we assume
the expectations in these forward-looking statements are realistic, we cannot
guarantee they will prove to be correct. The assumptions may harbor risks and
uncertainties that may cause the actual figures to differ considerably from the
forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include,
among other things, changes in the economic and business environment, variations
in exchange and interest rates, the introduction of competing products, lack of
acceptance for new products or services, and changes in corporate strategy.
Neither WACKER nor SCHOTT plans to update the forward-looking statements, nor
assumes the obligation to do so.
Further inquiry note:
Wacker Chemie AG
Christof Bachmair
Media Relations and Information
Tel.: +49 (0)89 6279 1830
E-Mail: christof.bachmair@wacker.com
SCHOTT AG
Klaus Hofmann
Corporate Public Relations
Tel.: +49 (0) 6131 66-3662
klaus-bernhard.hofmann@schott.com
end of announcement euro adhoc 02.08.2007 12:30:18
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emitter: Wacker Chemie AG
Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4
D-81737 München
phone: +49 (0) 89 6279 01
FAX: +49 (0) 89 6279 1770
mail: info@wacker.com
WWW: http://www.wacker.com
sector: Chemicals
ISIN: DE000WCH8881
indexes: CDAX, Classic All Share, HDAX, MDAX, Midcap Market Index, Prime
All Share
stockmarkets: official dealing/prime standard: Börse Frankfurt
language: English
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