Wacker opens a new technical center for carpet applications in the USA

Wacker Chemie AG is strength-ening its presence in the USA by bringing a new technical center for carpet applications on stream in Dalton, Georgia. It offers lab facilities for developing and testing polymeric binders for the carpet industry. At the same time, the WACKER ACADEMY, the Group's international training center, is opening a local branch at the Dalton site. WACKER is thus meeting the growing demand for high-quality VAE dispersions for carpet applications in the region, and improving its local expertise in research, develop-ment, applications support and customer service.

WACKER's new technical center, based in Dalton, Georgia, is fo-cused on developing new formulations with vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions, and meeting the local demands of cus-tomers in the carpet industry. VAE dispersions of the VINNAPAS® brand are increasingly being used in place of traditional latexes as binders for bonding carpet backing.
“Our aim is to support our customers in the carpet industry by realiz-ing their individual requirements directly on the spot, and to develop and test innovative VAE binder applications together with them,” ex-plains Peter Summo, head of the dispersions business at WACKER POLYMERS. “Our new technical center in Dalton will greatly improve the support we give our customers in developing new product solu-tions.”

Besides research and applications labs, the facility also houses a local branch of the WACKER ACADEMY, the Group’s own training and education center. The seminar program is tailored to the specific needs of the carpet industry. The specially equipped training lab also allows participants to perform extensive practical exercises. In addi-tion to the established US training centers in Adrian (MI) and Allen-town (PA), WACKER ACADEMY sites have already opened in Burghausen (Germany), Moscow (Russia), Beijing (China), Seoul (South Korea), Mumbai (India), Sao Paulo (Brazil) Singapore, Dubai (U.A.E.) and Mexico City (Mexico).

With over 50 years’ experience in the development and production of vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer dispersions, WACKER is a global technology and market leader in this field. VINNAPAS® dispersions are popular binders in the construction, paints, coatings and adhe-sives industries. WACKER’s dispersions further find application, for instance, in the formulation of low-odor and low-emission indoor paints, but also in plasters, technical textiles and nonwovens, carpet adhesives and as binders in polymer materials based on renewable resources.