Clariant strengthens Asian presence
The Swiss-based specialty chemicals company Clariant announces the opening of its new Regional Headquarters for South East Asia & Pacific and its new Global textile chemicals headquarters, both located in Singapore. Clariant is also celebrating the inauguration of its newly built Ethoxylation plant and application laboratory in Guangdong, China. “Expanding Clariant’s business in the fast-growing Asian region is an important pillar in our profitable growth strategy and a strong commitment to serving our customers and markets,” comments CEO Hariolf Kottmann.
New Regional Headquarters for South East Asia & Pacific Region
Clariant’s new regional hub is the first headquarters to be shared by Clariant and Süd-Chemie. The current 200 employees based at the Singapore location will support customers in the South East Asia and Pacific regions. In the last five years, Clariant’s sales in the Asia Pacific region have grown from 17% to around 22%. At the same time investment reached over CHF 200 million in China alone. Clariant’s acquisition of Süd-Chemie will add significantly to this growth. Süd-Chemie achieved 31.5% of its sales in Asia and the Middle East in 2010, standing at EUR 385 million. A third of its employees are located in this region.
New Global Textile Chemicals BU Headquarters
The South East Asia & Pacific Headquarters will also serve as the headquarters for Clariant’s Textile Chemicals Business Unit. In 2010 the textile business generated sales of CHF 821 million. With more than 60% of global textile production based in the Asia Pacific region, Clariant already generates 43% of its textile chemicals sales from Asia. With its relocation from Switzerland now complete, the new headquarters will accommodate the entire senior Textile Chemicals BU management team. The Business Unit has also set up its global textile application team at the new location, including a state of the art laboratory.
First Asia ethoxylation plant of Clariant in China
Clariant’s completion of its global ethoxylation footprint with a first site in Asia marks another significant investment in the country by its Industrial and Consumer Specialties (ICS) Business Unit.
The new 80,000 square meter Dayabay plant situated in the South East of Guangdong Province is the business unit’s largest plant in Asia Pacific. The plant has an initial capacity close to 50,000 tons per annum for the manufacture of surfactants. Additionally, it is equipped with an autoclave laboratory to allow fast product development and customization of products to local demands.
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