Solvay to build fluorinated polymers plant in China

Solvay headquarters.

SHANGHAI, CHINA: Solvay plans to build a new plant for fluorinated polymers at its industrial site in Changshu, Jiangsu province, China. The project is scheduled to be operational in 2014 with an investment of €120 million, said Maurizio Gastaldi, Head of Asia Growth & Development, Solvay Specialty Polymers. Solvay’s investment also includes a €21 million project to build a compounding plant in Changshu, which will come on-stream in 2012.

It will serve the fast growing markets in China for electrical & electronics, wire & cable, automotive, consumer and industrial applications. The two research and development facilities in Shanghai will be combined into one world-class R&D centre at Rhodia’s campus. A new €4 million building will be added to the existing Rhodia research centre with two full floors dedicated to polymer formulation and processing and will include an injection moulding facility for customer trials.

“It will significantly boost Solvay’s global production capacity and meet the growing demand for high value-added specialty polymers in Asia. The facility will be fully adaptable for future expansion for both overall capacity and for other high performance engineering and fluorinated polymers. The acquisition of Rhodia will strengthen our commitment to expansion in Asia and focus significant investment in China as a platform for growth in the region,” said Gastaldi.

© China Daily News