Wacker Chemie AG will build a new production plant for its HDK® brand of pyrogenic silica at its Charleston site in the US state of Tennessee. The Munich-based chemical company announced this today. The new facility, with an annual capacity of about 13,000 metric tons, is anticipated to involve capital expenditure of some US$150 million. Construction work will start in the second quarter of next year, with completion planned for the first half of 2019. This is expected to create some 50 new jobs at the Charleston site. WACKER already produces hyperpure polysilicon for the solar and semiconductor sectors in Charleston, with some 650 employees there.