Arkema has officially started its new 60,000 MTY emulsion polymers facility on its Changshu platform. The plant, part of Arkema’s Coating Resins business unit, will serve customers in the Asia Pacific region with a full line of waterborne emulsion polymers for coatings and adhesives applications.
This new plant, which represented a $30 million investment, is located in Arkema’s Changshu manufacturing complex, the company’s largest manufacturing complex worldwide.
“The full startup of this new facility is an important event for our customers in the Asia Pacific region,” said Richard Jenkins, Global Group President of Arkema Coating Resins. “We promised our customers local manufacturing of innovative, market-leading products, produced in a modern, automated facility with a focus on consistent, repeatable quality, and environmental responsibility. Our new facility delivers on each of those commitments and helps place Arkema in the forefront of raw material suppliers, both in the Asia Pacific region, and globally.”
The plant produces a range of emulsion polymers used as binders for architectural coatings, building and construction products, adhesives and specialty coatings. The products include Encor® acrylic and styrene acrylic latexes; SNAP® nano-acrylic polymers; Celocor® opaque polymers; and Encor® Flex elastomeric latexes.
In addition to the waterborne products produced in the new plant, the company markets a comprehensive line of coatings raw materials, including solvent-borne resins, powder coating resins, and additives.
The new facility features state-of-the-art automation capabilities, and is adjacent to the company’s new research and development center, opened in fall 2013.
“The combination of our new plant and R&D center in one location in China sets Arkema apart from other suppliers, and significantly enhances our ability to serve our customers with local expertise and capabilities,” said Wilson Foo, Asia Pacific President for Arkema Coating Resins. “The facilities we have put in place in Changshu represent one step in our plans to expand, both in the Asia Pacific region and globally, to ensure we meet our customers’ needs wherever they operate,” Wilson Foo concluded.
The site was designed and built with sustainability and environmental responsibility as key performance criteria. The plant has zero volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, and zero wastewater release. All process water is treated and recycled within the plant for re-use in the manufacturing process.
The on-schedule completion of the new facility underscores Arkema’s commitment to growing its franchise in the global coatings industry. In addition to this new facility, the company has recently completed several key growth initiatives in the region, including production facilities for coating resins in Malaysia, a rheology additives unit operated by Coatex in China, and a research and development center in China.
A global chemical company and France’s leading chemicals producer, Arkema is building the future of the chemical industry every day. Deploying a responsible, innovation-based approach, we produce state-of-the-art specialty chemicals that provide customers with practical solutions to such challenges as climate change, access to drinking water, the future of energy, fossil fuel preservation and the need for lighter materials. With operations in more than 40 countries, some 14,000 employees and 10 research centers, Arkema generates annual revenue of €6.4 billion, and holds leadership positions in all its markets with a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.