Wacker And Schott In Talks About Joint Venture To Produce Solar Wafers

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Negotiations are well advanced. The joint venture could start production of multicrystalline silicon ingots and solar wafers, which are a precursor for solar cells, this year. Solar wafer production capacity is targeted to reach about one gigawatt per year by 2012. WACKER and SCHOTT will each hold a 50 percent equity stake in the joint venture.



SCHOTT 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 (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 €3.34 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.