Excellence Made in Burghausen
What makes for really good building materials? Excellent raw materials, of course. But, above all, a great deal of expertise and experience. WACKER has a home for all these: its technical competence center for construction polymers in Burghausen. Here, we have been working to find the best formulation for each individual customer since 1957.
Not Every Mortar Is the Same
Mortar is one of the oldest building materials in the world and has retained its popularity down to today. Traditionally, it is composed of a mixture of sand, cement, filler and water. Nowadays, though, a polymeric binder is usually added to provide the technical properties needed for modern-day construction projects. The challenge posed by mortar is that the constituent raw materials differ substantially from each other in their composition and properties.
The various processing conditions and application areas play a key role, too. It makes a big difference, for instance, whether mortar is processed in a warm, humid, subtropical climate or in a central European one.
The “hallowed halls” of the Burghausen technical center for construction polymers. This is where experience meets expertise and customer proximity.
Tested to the Extremes
But how do you go about finding the best formulation for a specific application? At WACKER, we set up a technical competence center for construction polymers in Burghausen back in 1957 for this purpose. It is here that we test customer formulations containing original raw materials – with the aim of finding the perfect dry-mix mortar for any given application. The goal is to collaborate with our customers on tailored solutions that boost the performance of cementitious building materials while making them safer, more durable and more sustainable. Aside from addressing specific customer queries, the center also keeps a watchful eye on general construction-industry trends.
Worldwide Presence
Our Burghausen technical competence center is just one of a total of currently 23 such centers worldwide – though it is our biggest and oldest. We believe that a local presence is very important. Our expert teams are familiar with the unique characteristics of each market and, with their regional know-how, provide our customers with support in their own language.
Burghausen Technical Competence Center:
Facts and Figures
100,000 Individual Measurements Per Year
We carry out over 100,000 individual measurements per year at our Burghausen technical center. They provide us with insights into how building materials perform under certain conditions.
50 Construction-Related Tests
We offer a total of 50 construction-related tests . This includes all the standard test methods cited in the relevant norms. Additionally, we have drawn on our longstanding experience to develop some test methods of our own.
12 Labs
We have 12 labs where we develop individual formulations for new products and optimize those of existing products.
1,500 m2 Lab Space
Our experts have 1,500 m2 lab space at their disposal. Some of this is occupied by our climatic, weathering and VOC test chambers, for example.
55 Experts
55 experts are on hand to test customer formulations containing original raw materials – with the aim of finding the perfect dry-mix mortar for any given application.
60 Years of Production Experience
In 1957, WACKER became one of the first companies to start producing dispersible polymer powders. It now has more than 60 years of experience and is a world-leader in the market for dispersible polymer powders.
10,000 m2 Outdoor Weathering Facility
On an area of 10,000 m2, our outdoor weathering facility provides valuable insights into the effects of climate on building materials and formulations.
