Investments in China
October 2013 www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 55
latest technology to support the company’s expanding coatings
production and growth plans.
Applying the latest technologies, BASF’s new plant will also
supply CathoGuard 800, an e-coat that is ideally suited for the
new standard of integrated coatings application processes and
contains less than one percent solvents. E-coat is a critical coating layer in automotive production, protecting a car’s surfaces,
edges and cavities from corrosion, as well as being the base for
applying subsequent paint layers.
Ashland Inc. recently celebrated the grand opening of its new
gelcoats production facility in the Chemical Industry Park of
Changzhou Yangtze Riverside Economic Development Zone.
This $60 million dollar facility, which is Ashland’s most advanced gelcoats plant in the world, serves customers in marine,
sanitary ware, transportation, wind energy and industrial markets in China and the broader Asia Pacific region.
The plant currently employs 30 people and is located in
Changzhou where Ashland also operates an unsaturated polyester resins and epoxy vinyl ester resins production facility that
has been manufacturing products in the region for more than
10 years. The grand opening celebration was attended by nearly
250 people, including customers, suppliers, trade associations,
government officials from various levels of Changzhou and
members of the media.
Gelcoats are specialty resins that help to improve the appearance of fiberglass products and to protect structural layered
materials from corrosion. They are used in a wide variety of
consumer and industrial products, including yachts, bathtubs,
basins, high-speed trains, buses, wind energy blades, nacelles,
cooling towers and storage tanks.
Ashland’s product brands include award-winning Maxguard
and Enguard gelcoats. The new facility will also produce adhesives, fire retardant resins and low-profile additives for many
industrial products. With an initial annual capacity of 10,000
tons of gelcoats and 2,000 tons of adhesives products, the facility is designed for further expansion to meet increasing market
demand across Asia.
“China is an attractive market for investment, despite some
of the current economic challenges. Ashland has made a series
of investments in the country over the past few years to expand
our ability to serve local customers,” said Ted Harris, senior
vice president and president, Ashland Performance Materials;
and president, Ashland Global Supply Chain. “This new facility
reflects Ashland’s commitment to maintaining the highest pro-
duction standards for gelcoats products. More importantly, we
are extremely proud of our two-year zero incident record we
maintained throughout the construction of this plant. Thanks to
the long-term support provided by the Changzhou government,
I’m confident that this new facility will soon become an integral
part of Ashland family and the local community.”
“Ashland started our gelcoats business in China in 1995, and
we have enjoyed significant growth since then,” added Baochang
Zhang, vice president, Ashland Performance Materials, Asia
Pacific. “This new facility will enable us to better assist our cus-
tomers in providing competitive products to the marketplace
while strengthening our position as China’s leading gelcoats
supplier.” “Ashland is committed to Responsible Care,” said
James Ying, operations director, Ashland Asia Pacific, “We have
taken all possible measures to make sure our gelcoats plant
demonstrates the highest environmental, health and safety stan-
dards, as other Ashland plants across the region.”
Dow Corning (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Dow Corning
Corporation, a leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and in-
novation, celebrated the completion of its multi-million USD ex-
pansion at the Shanghai Songjiang site that marks one of the largest
single investments in China’s paper release industry to date.
The newly established solventless silicone manufacturing system demonstrates the company’s continued effort to increasing
efficiency in the regional supply chain and brings environmental
and financial benefits for customers across China and the Asia
Pacific region because no solvents are used.
Dow Corning entered the China market in 1973 and to
date, its combined investment in China is more than $2 billion. The company’s three major facilities in China – the newly expanded manufacturing Songjiang site that serves as the
Asia Specialty Chemicals Hub; Zhangjiagang’s manufacturing
facility that is an integral part of China’s largest integrated
silicone production site as well as Shanghai’s Dow Corning
China Business and Technology Center – are key to providing
a complete and complementary local service offering, the company reported. This fully integrated local supply chain enables
customers to benefit from a more reliable supply of locally produced products; a reduced lead time on products’ delivery; and
lower costs and a diminished carbon footprint due to reduced
trans-ocean freight costs.
Allnex officially opened its new Technical Services &
Development (TS&D) laboratory in Shanghai. This facility is
planned to bring together Allnex’s key technologies under one
roof for synergies and resource sharing in technical developments. The laboratory will commence operation in September
2013 following its official opening.
“China is the focal point of our coating resins business
growth strategy,” said Allnex’s vice president, Asia Pacific, Siva
Iyer. “The new center will integrate the capabilities of our exist-
ing two laboratories in China; it will meet global safety and
environmental standards and provide modern state-of-the-art
lab facilities for our employees to further help our customers by
faster product and applications development. Our aim is also
to speed technology transfer from Europe and America to the
emerging growth regions.”
Frank Aranzana, CEO, Allnex added, “The opening of our
new TS&D laboratory is part of Allnex’s strategy to accelerate
growth in Asia and further globalize our business. It also rein-
forces our position as a preferred resin supplier.”
Allnex’s TS&D laboratory is located within an easily ac-
cessible modern technology park at Yin Du Road, Shanghai
to support its entire coating resins and additives portfolio.
This laboratory facilitates paint formulation, technical ser-
vice, raw material research, resins modification and new res-
ins development. CW
