Wacker Polysilicon North America employees celebrated Wednesday the completion of the plant’s first operational building, the Tennessee Distribution Center.

During future plant construction, the 165,000-square-foot structure will hold equipment for the project. Following plant construction, the building will hold Wacker product, parts and packaging materials. Vertical construction for the Tennessee Distribution Center began Nov. 23, 2011. From start to completion, building construction led to no worker injuries.

“All of the equipment needed for the assembly and erection of the production facilities must be here on site before we are able to start actually assembling,” said Dr. Konrad Bachhuber, vice president and site manager for Wacker Polysilicon North America. “This is why the Tennessee Distribution Center has become operational so quickly; we needed storage space in close proximity to the construction site.”

Construction of the building was a major part of the project and not all that was accomplished during this time, according to Ulrich Dankerl, project manager and lead logistics/engineering for the project. Also prepared were racks, an IT system and infrastructure, a modern scanning and bar-coding system, a mezzanine for smaller parts, forklifts, a sprinkler system and management software.

During the plant’s construction phase, 16 Wacker employees will work full-time at the Tennessee Distribution Center. The building will see up to 40 trucks each day in this phase. Once the plant is completed, Wacker expects 29 employees to work in the building including clerks and operators.

Wacker’s Tennessee Distribution Center employees will be responsible for onsite transportation, receiving, inbound/outbound shipping, postal service, site logistics consulting, P/T management for the site and site loading/unloading.

“Everyone who has worked on this building, from the smallest to the largest details, deserves my utmost thanks and gratitude,” Dankerl told team members Wednesday. “I am proud to work with you and realize what we accomplished together as a team. The achievements we celebrate today result from the combined efforts of each and every individual involved. We have come a long way in a short time.”

Bachhuber added, “Each new day here is filled with exciting challenges and opportunities; and it is by no coincidence that we also have much to celebrate each day. It is because of the entire project team’s hard work, commitment, thoughtful planning and dedication that these momentous occasions occur.”

The Tennessee Distribution Center will be managed by Cleveland native Ken Guthrie who previously worked at Cormetech.