Dow Corning and WACKER Celebrate the Groundbreaking of New Siloxane Facility in China

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Construction of China’s largest siloxane facility officially began
following the groundbreaking ceremony today at the site in
Zhangjiagang, China. Representatives from Dow Corning Corporation
(Midland, Michigan, USA) and Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany)
celebrated this milestone with their manufacturing joint venture
company, Dow Corning (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd. This world-class scale
siloxane manufacturing facility will be located in the Jiangsu
Yangtze River Chemical Industrial Park, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu
Province. Also included in the joint venture project is a fumed
silica plant, which together will support the vigorous growth and
demand for silicone materials of both the Chinese and Asian markets.
The integrated site in Zhangjiagang will also house other facilities
owned and operated separately by Dow Corning and WACKER for the
manufacture of silicone finished products.

Capacities for siloxane and fumed silica together are planned to be
approximately 200,000 metric tons per year. It is expected that full
operational capacity will be phased in by the end of the decade. The
fumed silica plant is expected to start production by the end of
2007. Total investment for the joint venture projects is estimated to
exceed 600 million U.S. dollars in the coming years.

Dr. Stephanie Burns, Chairman, President & CEO of Dow Corning
Corporation, and Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker, President & CEO of
WACKER Group were onsite today to inaugurate the new facility along
with Mr. Huang Qin, Party Secretary of the Zhangjiagang City and Mr.
Tan Zhu Zhou, Honorary Chairman of the China Petroleum and Chemical
Industry Association. The ceremony was attended by more than 300
guests including key executives from WACKER, Dow Corning and
government officials from Beijing, Zhangjiagang and Jiangsu province,
consultants and business partners, as well as representatives from
companies operating in the chemical park.

In a joint statement, Dr. Burns and Dr. Wacker emphasized the
strategic importance of the new joint venture projects: "The China
silicone market has great potential to grow rapidly as it moves
toward a mature international market. It is our goal to leverage the
cost and quality advantages of an integrated site to support the
development of a world class silicone industry in China and to
benefit our respective customers."

Dow Corning and WACKER each have had a long presence in the Chinese
market and are strongly committed to the long-term development and
leadership in production in China.

Mr. Huang Qin, Party Secretary of the Zhangjiagang City, said in his
congratulatory speech, "We are very grateful to see global companies
such as Dow Corning and WACKER decide to increase their investment in
China. Zhangjiagang is very pleased to have this opportunity to host
this world-class silicone manufacturing facility to bring further
economic and social development to the local community."

The joint venture facilities to produce siloxanes and fumed silica
will bring in state-of-the-art process and technology and set a high
standard for the silicone industry in China. This includes large
scale reactor technology, advanced processes for raw material
efficiency, a highly energy efficient design and environmental
controls technology. These technologies have been in use in similar
manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Europe, and proven to produce
high yield and quality output in an environmentally friendly way. The
plant will source raw materials locally where appropriate, making
this a highly cost-competitive facility.

In addition to improving local manufacturing technology and quality,
the project is expected to reflect "best-in-class" environmental
measures - in line with the commitments to Environmental, Health &
Safety and sustainable development.

Dow Corning and WACKER will continue independently to serve their
respective customers. Both companies will develop and operate
separate manufacturing facilities for finished products at the
integrated site in Zhangjiagang.

About Siloxane and Fumed Silica Siloxane is a key starting material
for the production of silicones. Major silicone application
industries include: construction, chemicals, cosmetics, textiles,
automotive, paper and electronics. Fumed silica is used as an active
filler in silicone elastomers, as a viscosity-adjusting agent in
coatings, printing inks, adhesives, unsaturated polyester resins and
plastisols or as a flow aid, for example in the cosmetics,
pharmaceutical and food-processing industries.

About WACKER WACKER (www.wacker.com) is a globally operating chemical
company headquartered in Munich, Germany. With a wide range of
state-of-the-art specialty products, WACKER is a leader in numerous
industrial sectors. Its products support countless high-growth
end-user sectors such as photovoltaics, electronics, pharmaceuticals
and household/personal care products. The WACKER Group posted sales
of around EUR 2.76 billion in 2005, of which some 80 percent were
generated outside Germany. WACKER employs around 14,400 people at 22
production sites in Europe, the Americas and Asia, and about 100
sales offices worldwide. Wacker Chemie AG is listed at the Frankfurt
(Germany) Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000WCH8881).

About Dow Corning Dow Corning (www.dowcorning.com) provides
performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more
than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based
technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and
services, Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company
and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual
sales are outside the United States. It recorded $3.88 billion in
global sales in 2005.

end of announcement euro adhoc 08.09.2006 10:52:12
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ots Originaltext: Wacker Chemie AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:
Wacker Chemie AG:
Christof Bachmair
+49 (0)89 6279 1619
christof.bachmair@wacker.com
Jessica He (China)
Phone: +86 21 6100 3588
jessica.he@wacker.com

Dow Corning:
Mary Lou Benecke (U.S.)
Tel.: +1 989-496-8689
Marylou.Benecke@dowcorning.com
Liliana Ng (China)
Tel.: +852 28350387
liliana.ng@dowcorning.com

Branche: Chemicals
ISIN: DE000WCH8881
WKN: WCH888
Index: CDAX, MDAX
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