WACKER Opens International Training Center for Construction Chemicals in Russia

WACKER, the Munich-based chemical group, opened its new VINNAPAS® ACADEMY Training & Competence Center in Moscow, Russia, today. The VINNAPAS® ACADEMY serves as an international training center for construction-chemical topics and offers the ideal platform for sector-specific networking between customers, sales partners and WACKER experts. At the same time, WACKER is expanding its Moscow technical center set up five years ago. WACKER is thus promoting the transfer of expertise to its local customers and business partners, thereby helping to further tap into the region’s fast-growing construction-polymer market.
Catering to Russian and CIS-specific construction-chemical needs, the training center’s seminar program gives customers and business partners an opportunity to learn all about VINNAPAS® polymer powders and their applications. Courses range from basic information on polymer chemistry, formulation expertise relevant to dry-mix mortars, through to innovative applications such as exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) and self-leveling compounds. Seminars are held by WACKER experts, Russian construction-industry specialists and university lecturers.
The inauguration of the new training center was timed to coincide with the technical center’s fifth-anniversary celebrations and recent expansion. Peter Summo, vice president of Construction Polymers at WACKER POLYMERS: “The success of the Moscow technical center highlights the vital part it plays in our Russian growth strategy. The new VINNAPAS® ACADEMY in Moscow represents a further major milestone. By offering our local customers even better support, the academy is helping the Russian building sector make further advances.”
The Moscow technical center began operating as a regional center of construction-polymer expertise five years ago. As a result of its expansion program, the center’s available floor space has now almost doubled to 750 m2. At the same time, new testing equipment – including a second EIFS test wall – has been commissioned. The new facility will test exterior insulation systems under extremely harsh climatic conditions. Aging and weathering processes are accelerated to ascertain a material’s stability and effectiveness. A climatic chamber can simulate a wide range of conditions – from tropically humid or wet to typically Russian weather such as extreme permafrost. Tests fully comply with guidelines laid down by the European Organisation for Technical Approvals (EOTA).
“As these facilities are unprecedented in the CIS, we can reinforce our position as a regional technology leader for high-quality chemical raw materials,” explains Dmitry Firsaev, responsible for the VINNAPAS® ACADEMY at Wacker Chemie Rus. “The new VINNAPAS® ACADEMY offers our customers and business partners considerable added value. They can now tap into the market and technology leader’s 50 years of experience, thus enhancing their own business success.”
By expanding its Moscow technical center and opening a VINNAPAS® ACADEMY there, WACKER is supporting the ever-growing construction sector in Russia and the CIS. In view of rising energy prices and the Russian/CIS climate, efficient facade insulation is playing an ever greater role there – this type of insulation can reduce energy costs by as much as 60%. VINNAPAS® polymer powders from WACKER play a vital part. They ensure that individual insulation-system layers bond to one another permanently. As a result, the insulating system offers greater durability and much more resistance to weathering and wear than its unmodified counterparts.
The WACKER Group has been supplying basic chemicals, such as pyrogenic silica and silicone fluids, to Central and Eastern Europe for over 30 years. As regional sales and marketing requirements increased, the Group set up Wacker Chemie Rus in October 2002. Based in Moscow, this subsidiary serves customers in Russia and across the CIS. Since July 2003, specialists at the subsidiary’s technical center have been testing formulations containing local raw materials under the customers’ specific climatic conditions. Additionally, the technical center offers practical advice on problems relating to construction chemicals and helps customers to implement internationally applicable quality standards. Due to the rising number of training inquiries from Russia, an independent training center in the form of the Moscow VINNAPAS® ACADEMY has now been established for the Russian market and located on the technical center’s premises.