Supporting its commitment to customers in China and the greater Asia-Pacific region, Chemtura Corporation (NYSE: CHMT) (Euronext: CHMT), a leading global specialty chemicals company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, today held the grand opening of its new multipurpose manufacturing facility in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area.
“Chemtura aims to create value for customers and other stakeholders by supporting its business growth with increased manufacturing capacity in faster-growing regions,” said Craig A. Rogerson, Chemtura Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The completion and opening of our Nantong facility underscores this commitment and allows us to work closer with customers, bring them innovative solutions, and help them to be more competitive and successful.”
The state-of-the-art facility, located in Jiangsu Province 80 miles northwest of Shanghai, will consist of three production units supporting Chemtura’s Industrial Performance Products segment, which includes petroleum additive and urethane products. Rogerson said, “It is our intention and hope that this will also be the footprint that the other businesses in our portfolio will use when they come into the region.”
The petroleum additives business requires local manufacturing and storage capabilities for some of its product lines in order to meet customer demand. These include synthetic finished fluids (refrigeration lubricants, air compressor lubricants and gear oils) and calcium sulfonate complex grease.
“Local manufacturing capacity for synthetic lubricants is required for the business to respond to the market’s demand for shorter lead times,” said Simon Medley, Senior Vice President of Industrial Performance Products. “Installation of grease capacity in China provides Chemtura’s customers with a more secure global supply capability, and places capacity in the region with the highest growth rate.”
The first unit began producing calcium sulfonate grease in August, with production ramping up to commercial scale in the fourth quarter this year.
Growth in the urethanes division, including its low-free (LF) prepolymer urethanes, is driven by the commercialization of Chemtura’s high-performance, greener Adiprene® Duracast product line coupled with increasing global and regional demand for its LF products. Additional LF prepolymer manufacturing capacity in China will allow Chemtura to continue to grow its most advanced product lines and places capacity in a region with strong demand growth, while preserving existing capacity elsewhere to continue supplying customers in other regions.
The new plant features administrative and maintenance buildings, utilities, a centralized control room, and quality control labs. Construction began in March 2012.
“A major emphasis throughout the project has been on safety,” said Niu Limin, Chemtura Nantong Plant Manager. “We conducted extensive safety training throughout the project to focus on safe construction, safe start-up, and safe operation. Through midyear 2013, nearly 1.7 million person-hours of work were performed with no recordable injuries – a significant safety achievement.”
This facility, which was approved in 2011, stands as Chemtura’s largest single investment since the company’s formation in 2005 and the central site for manufacturing in Asia-Pacific, specifically in China.
Chemtura Corporation, with 2012 sales of $2.6 billion,1 is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals, agrochemicals and pool, spa and home care products.