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Business news www.us- tech.com December, 2019


WACKER Opens Pyrogenic Silica Plant in U.S.


Adrian, MI — The WACKER Group has officially brought a plant for manufacturing pyrogenic silica on stream at its U.S. site in Charleston, Tennessee. Representatives from the government and from business at- tended the ceremony. The facility has an annual pro-


duction capacity of 14,330 tons (13,000 metric tons). WACKER will


since 2016. The most important byproduct of polysilicon manufactur- ing is tetrachlorosilane. This materi- al can be either converted and fed back into the production loop or can be processed into pyrogenic silica, thus creating additional value for the company and for customers. The facility is another mile- stone for Charleston, as the site is


ICS Installs Kurtz Ersa Hybrid Rework System


Plymouth, WI — Kurtz Ersa has sold and installed an HR 600/2 hybrid re- work system to International Con- trols Services (ICS). ICS’ partners require high-mix, high-complexity, start-to-fin- ish manufacturing and sup- ply chain solutions. “Here at ICS, we find we


sometimes have to do rework on very complex products,” says Dennis Espinoza, presi- dent of ICS. “After an in- depth study of what the preci- sion repair shops were using to provide their services, we made the decision to buy the HR 600/2 from Ersa and we have virtually eliminated sending any repair out to be done. In fact, we are now get- ting some products from other CMs to repair for them.” With the installation of the re-


axis system for component placement down to ±1 mil (±0.025 mm). ICS is an EMS provider for the


Dennis Espinoza, president (left), and Krista Dunn, SMT rework specialist (right), ICS.


work system, ICS benefits from guar- anteed user-independent repro- ducible repair results, as well as process control and documentation with the HRSoft operator software. Additional features include a highly efficient 800W hybrid heating head and a highly accurate, motor-driven


Filling system for pyrogenic silica at WACKER’s new plant in Charleston, Tennessee.


use this output both for sales purpos- es and for its own silicone produc- tion. Highly dispersible pyrogenic sil- ica is an important formulation com- ponent for manufacturing silicone rubber. Investments for the new fa- cility total around $150 million and will create 50 new jobs at the Charleston site. WACKER has been producing


pyrogenic silica at its German sites in Burghausen and Nünchritz and at its Zhangjiagang site in China. Launching the new plant


in


Charleston now puts the company in a position to offer customers in the Americas a direct supply of HDK® pyrogenic silica. “The additional capacity will


strengthen our market position as one of the world’s leading pyrogenic silica manufacturers and will help us to meet our customers’ growing de- mand,” says Rudolf Staudigl, CEO, WACKER. The new plant also closes mate-


rial loops and improves the supply chain at the site. WACKER has been producing polysilicon in Charleston


now able to run an integrated pro- duction based on the closed-loop sys- tem WACKER successfully operates at its Burghausen and Nünchritz sites. The network maximizes the site’s flexibility for processing tetra- chlorosilane and obviates the dispos- al of waste products, thus enhancing the viability of the integrated pro- duction network as a whole. “The pyrogenic silica facility is


the next logical step in making Charleston a fully integrated silicon site in the world’s second largest chemical market,” says Staudigl. In addition to state-of-the-art dispensing and packaging systems, the new plant will also include test and development labs as well as training rooms for the company’s WACKER ACADEMY. There, customers can participate in seminars, training sessions and hands-on exercises for an in-depth look at the wide array of applications


when using pyrogenic silica. Contact: Wacker Chemical


Corp., 3301 Sutton Road, Adrian, MI 49221 % 517-264-8500 Web: www.wacker.com r


industrial, medical, communications, defense, aerospace, and homeland se- curity industries. The company pro- vides electronic manufacturing serv- ices in the U.S., adding to the Amer-


ican workforce. Contact: Kurtz Ersa, Inc., 1779


Pilgrim Road, Plymouth, WI 53073 % 920-893-1779 fax: 920-893-1562 E-mail: ernie.grice@kurtzersa.com Web: www.ersa.com r


Nordson DAGE Joins UK Battery Consortium


Vista, CA — Nordson DAGE has joined a group of leading U.K. compa- nies, including Williams Manufac- turing Group and Unipart, to ad- vanced the U.K.’s low-carbon auto- motive capabilities. As part of the U.K. government’s


industrial strategy, five projects to- taling approximately $42.5 million were awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). As part of the “H1perChain” consortium, Nord- son DAGE will now embark on a three-year project to scale up the U.K.’s battery pack manufacturing capabilities. Key to achieving this task is developing new test and in- spection processes to ensure best-in- class reliability on each battery pack. Nordson will deploy its bond


test, X-ray and AOI products into the project, while collaborating closely with the R&D centers of the other consortium members. The Nordson


DAGE test and inspection center of excellence, located in Aylesbury, U.K., will play a pivotal role in the project. There is significant focus on In-


dustry 4.0 digitalization, which plays to a core research focus for Nordson, which has a full portfolio of test and inspection equipment in the semicon- ductor industry. “Nordson is excited to be the


lead test and inspection partner for the H1perChain project,” says Phil Vere, vice president of Nordson Test and Inspection. “Working within the consortium will give us the opportu- nity to develop new technologies and products to address the growing EV


market.” Contact: Nordson DAGE, 2370


Oakridge Way, Suite B, Vista, CA 92081 % 510-683-3930 E-mail: sales@nordsondage.com Web: www.nordson.com r


Precision Graphics Installs Juki ISM Storage Towers


Morrisville, NC — Precision Graph- ics, Inc., (PGI) has purchased and in- stalled two Juki ISM storage towers and an incoming material station. The systems have been installed at PGI’s 25,000 ft2 (2,323m2) facility in Somerville, New Jersey. Juki’s ISM storage manage-


ment system provides a flexible stor- age solution, allowing PGI to focus on its value-adding activities. Using the ISM UltraFlex 3600s, PGI can flexi- bly store up to 3,644 reels, monitor


them intelligently and oversee the fully automatic import and export of the components. “PGI competes against overseas


labor costs so we are always looking for ways to reduce our costs to stay competitive,” says Chris Gilbertson, quality director at PGI. “The Juki Towers give us the ability to reduce the cost of material management. The towers have increased our efficiencies through automation in inventory management and PGI’s material han-


dling processes. This cost savings is passed along to our customers.” With the incoming material sta-


tion, operators can speed up material registration activities, avoid mis- takes, and increase the traceability of each individual reel or component package. With its “AutoIncoming” fea- tures, it is possible to automatically import information from the suppli- er’s label into the ERP and print a new unique ID that can be used for many other functions within the fac-


tory. After setting the rules for each supplier’s label, the operator can sim- ply position the material on the sta- tion and the high-resolution camera will read all the needed codes and in- formation, take a picture for traceabil-


ity purposes and print the new label. Contact: Juki Automation Sys-


tems, 5151 McCrimmon Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560 % 510-468-6213 E-mail: carlos.eijansantos@juki.com Web: www.jukiamericas.com r


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