SiC Processing

SiC Processing GmbH was a German industrial company focused on the reprocessing of silicon sawing suspensions, known as slurry, generated by the photovoltaic and semiconductor industries. Its headquarters were in Hirschau, Germany. The company grew out of the SiC Gruppe, whose historical origin lay in AKW Apparate + Verfahren, founded in 1963. SiC Processing (Deutschland) GmbH was established in Bautzen in 2000, and its first plant was built there in 2001, requiring an additional line by 2004. In 2005 subsidiaries were founded in the United States, China and Norway, with the first plants in those countries starting operation in 2006 alongside an expansion in Germany. At the time of its insolvency, SiC Processing described itself as the global market leader in its field. Its majority owner was Nordic Capital Fund VII, while the founding family held 25 percent. The company's core technology was a wet-mechanical process using hydrocyclones to recycle slurry contaminated and worn by the wafer sawing process. Slurry is a suspension of silicon carbide and polyethylene glycol that acts both as an abrasive and a coolant when pure silicon is cut into wafers. SiC Processing's process achieved silicon carbide recovery rates of 75 to 90 percent and polyethylene glycol recovery rates of 90 to 95 percent, and the recycled material could be reused for sawing repeatedly. SiC Processing ran into difficulty due to price declines and overcapacity in the photovoltaic industry. In mid-2012 its Norwegian site was shut down after the insolvency of its sole customer, and in December the Norwegian subsidiary filed for insolvency. In November 2012 Peter Thysell was appointed Chief Restructuring Officer and sole managing director; according to his own account he ceased operations in Norway and the United States, gave up the Italian business, cut the German holding's running costs by 80 percent, negotiated debt restructurings in Germany and China totaling 180 million euros, restructured the German operating business, won new customers and improved the payment discipline of a major Chinese customer. On 18 December 2012 SiC Processing GmbH applied for insolvency proceedings in self-administration because of high payment arrears from individual customers, and in March 2013 repayment of bonds worth 82 million euros was due. The Amberg local court granted the application two days later. In 2014 it became known that the company had concluded contracts with Yingli Solar for the construction of a reprocessing plant in Baoding for 29 million euros and its operation for 10 years, five of them with minimum volumes and fixed prices. According to an insider, Yingli allegedly built its own reprocessing plant in parallel and then neither paid open invoices from SiC on time nor accepted further services at the agreed terms; the breach of these contracts was said to be a significant reason for the insolvency.

The historical origin of the SiC Gruppe lay in AKW Apparate + Verfahren, founded in 1963. In 1999, a process developed together with a business partner was tested on an industrial scale in a pilot plant in Novara, Italy. In 2000, SiC Processing (Deutschland) GmbH was founded in Bautzen, and in 2001 it built its first plant there. By 2004 this plant had to be expanded with a new line. In 2005, subsidiaries were founded in the United States, China and Norway. In 2006, the first plants in the United States, China and Norway were commissioned, and the plant in Germany was expanded. SiC Processing specialized in the reprocessing of silicon sawing suspensions generated in the photovoltaic and semiconductor industries. Its headquarters were in Hirschau. According to its own statements, at the time of its insolvency it was the global market leader. Its majority owner was Nordic Capital Fund VII, and the founding family held 25 percent. In the photovoltaic and semiconductor industries, so-called slurry is used to cut pure silicon into wafers. Slurry is a suspension of silicon carbide and polyethylene glycol that acts simultaneously as an abrasive and a coolant. Through the wet-mechanical process used by SiC Processing, hydrocyclones could be used to recycle slurry contaminated and worn by the sawing process. Silicon carbide recovery rates of 75 to 90 percent and polyethylene glycol recovery rates of 90 to 95 percent were achieved. The process could be repeated arbitrarily often after renewed sawing. SiC Processing ran into difficulties due to price declines and overcapacity in the photovoltaic industry. In mid-2012, the Norwegian site was shut down after the insolvency of its sole customer. In December, the Norwegian subsidiary filed for insolvency. In November 2012, Peter Thysell was made Chief Restructuring Officer and sole managing director. According to his own account, he ceased operations in Norway and the United States, gave up the Italian business, reduced the German holding's running costs by 80 percent, negotiated debt restructurings in Germany and China totaling 180 million euros, restructured the German operating business, won new customers and improved the payment discipline of a major Chinese customer. On 18 December 2012, SiC Processing GmbH applied for the opening of insolvency proceedings in self-administration because of high payment arrears from individual customers, and in March 2013 the repayment of bonds worth 82 million euros was due. The Amberg local court granted the application two days later. In 2014, it became known that contracts had been concluded with Yingli Solar for the construction of a reprocessing plant in Baoding for 29 million euros and its operation for 10 years, five of them with minimum volumes and fixed prices. According to an insider, Yingli allegedly built its own production plant for reprocessing in parallel and then neither paid SiC's open invoices on time nor accepted further services at the agreed terms. The breach of these contracts was said to be a significant reason for the insolvency.

• AKW Apparate + Verfahren, the historical origin of the SiC Gruppe, is founded.

• The process developed with a business partner is tested on an industrial scale in a pilot plant in Novara, Italy.

• SiC Processing (Deutschland) GmbH is founded in Bautzen.

• The first plant is built in Bautzen.

• The Bautzen plant is expanded with a new line.

• Subsidiaries are founded in the United States, China and Norway.

• First plants in the United States, China and Norway are commissioned; the German plant is expanded.

• Peter Thysell is appointed Chief Restructuring Officer and sole managing director.

• SiC Processing GmbH applies for insolvency proceedings in self-administration; the Amberg local court grants the application two days later.

• Repayment of bonds worth 82 million euros falls due.

• Contracts with Yingli Solar for a reprocessing plant in Baoding are disclosed; their breach is cited as a significant reason for the insolvency.

Self-described global market leader in silicon sawing slurry recycling at the time of its insolvency.

• Silicon carbide slurry recycling

  Wet-mechanical process using hydrocyclones to recover silicon carbide from used slurry, achieving recovery rates of 75 to 90 percent.

• Polyethylene glycol recovery

  Recovery of polyethylene glycol from used slurry, achieving recovery rates of 90 to 95 percent.

1. 1SiC Processing – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2SiC Processing – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org