Industrial history in Nünchritz
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A chemical site with over 100 years of history: an impressive success story
At the end of the 19th century, Friedrich-von-Heyden AG had made a name for itself with the production of salicylic acid – the raw material for the manufacture of Aspirin®. In order to expand production, it acquired a piece of land near the village of Nünchritz in 1899 and built a new, spacious chemical factory – the Weißig plant. The decisive factors were the nearby Dresden–Riesa–Leipzig railway line, the location on the Elbe River, and the road connections.
The sulfuric acid plant for salicylic acid production in Radebeul was already up and running by 1902. The first decades of the 20th century also saw the expansion of the plant's infrastructure, including the construction of the first water wells and a port facility. Some striking buildings from this period still characterize the appearance of the plant today: the gatehouse on Meißner Straße, built in 1922, the water tower next to the (present-day) fire station from 1901, and the spherical water tower from 1918/1919, which now stands in front of the distillation columns of the polysilicon plants.
Until 1945, the production of inorganic mass products predominated. In addition to sulfuric acid, these included oleum, caustic soda, potash lye, caustic potash, hydrogen, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid. During the war, the saccharin business also flourished.
After the end of the war, expropriation and dismantling took place by the Russian occupying power. Reconstruction began in 1946, and the sulfuric acid plant was put back into operation in 1947. In 1948, the chemical site was transferred to public ownership as VEB-Schwefelsäure und Ätznatronwerk Nünchritz (Nünchritz State-Owned Sulfuric Acid and Caustic Soda Plant).
At the beginning of the 1950s, Nünchritz underwent a fundamental structural change. This was based on the invention of the direct synthesis of methylchlorosilanes from silicon and chloromethane by Richard Müller and Eugene Rochow. The large-scale production of silicones is still based on the so-called Müller-Rochow synthesis today. In 1954, this invention was put into production in Nünchritz. In 1955, the production of silicone products began with silicone varnish and silicone oil, and in 1963, the production of silicone rubber was added.
Further developments and expansions followed. With the commissioning of the trichlorosilane plant, the chemical plant in Nünchritz also served as a raw material supplier for the GDR microelectronics industry, supplying it with semiconductor silicon. With its specialization in silicone products, the plant was given a new name: VEB Chemiewerk Nünchritz.
After German reunification, Hüls AG was awarded the contract to take over Chemiewerk Nünchritz GmbH thanks to its ambitious restructuring and employment plan. Despite investments amounting to several hundred million German marks, around 900 jobs had to be cut (57 percent of the workforce in 1991). When Hüls AG merged with Degussa-Hüls AG, it also streamlined its business portfolio and divested itself of the plant on the Elbe. WACKER seized the opportunity, signing the purchase agreement for the Saxony plant on November 27, 1998, and thus laying the foundation for a successful future.
Today, silicon-based chemical products are manufactured here. Due to their diverse properties, the silicones from Nünchritz have a very wide range of applications. They are used as elastic adhesives and sealants in the construction industry, but also as defoamers in sewage treatment plants, foodstuffs, detergents, and production facilities. Building materials such as plasterboard and bricks are impregnated and protected with silicones. The high-purity polycrystalline silicon from Nünchritz is also used to generate electricity from solar energy. To do this, the silicon is melted down, cut into wafer-thin wafers, and fitted with the appropriate circuits.
To make the site globally competitive, WACKER invested around €1.5 billion in Nünchritz between 1999 and 2012. The production facilities form a highly integrated Verbund system that ensures maximum utilization and recycling of by-products. With the construction of the production facilities for solar silicon, the last major milestone in the plant expansion for the time being, the workforce grew to over 1,400 employees, including an average of 80 trainees. The WACKER plant in Nünchritz is Saxony's largest chemical employer.
Source: Wacker Chemie AG
