Citation
(2007), "Further China investment underlines ICI's commitment to growth", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 36 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2007.12936bab.028
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Further China investment underlines ICI's commitment to growth
Further China investment underlines ICI's commitment to growth
ICI is investing in a second emulsion polymerization facility in China, underlining its strategic commitment to “aggressive growth” in the region.
Construction has started on the $20 million facility at the Songjiang Industrial Development Zone in Shanghai and is scheduled for completion in mid-2007.
The plant will be operated by National Starch, a business of ICI, and will produce for the local market specialty polymers and solution acrylic adhesives for high end tapes and labels, water treatment, detergent, packaging coatings and decorative coatings industries.
The 45,000 tonnes per annum facility, with 40 new staff, will have the capacity to serve a number of other end use markets, including ICI's paints business in China, ICI Swire Paints.
ICI currently has eight major facilities in China, manufacturing products such as decorative paints, adhesives, specialty starches and electronic materials for the China market and the Asia Pacific region. Additional facilities, including the new emulsion polymerization plant and the recently announced China Technical Centre for Group R&D and construction polymers plant, are to be completed by 2008. ICI employs nearly 2,000 people in China, where it had sales of more than US$400 million in 2005.
Sam Ewe, Senior Corporate Vice President, National Starch, says: “This investment represents a key part of our strategy to expand local manufacturing capability to include more differentiated, specialty product ranges. The investment is in line with ICI's announced `grow aggressively' strategy for Asia.”
Kenneth Ng, General Manager, ICI Swire Paints, says: “As a potential customer of this new facility, we expect to leverage ICI's polymer technologies to gain market competitiveness in this high-growth market.”