InterviewChina to be world’s biggest PU maker

02 September 2008 14:26  [Source: ICIS news]

By Judith Wang

 

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--Polyurethane demand growth in China is fast surpassing that in other regions and the country is set to become the world’s largest market of polyurethanes by 2015, said an executive from Bayer MaterialScience on Tuesday.

 

“This region is booming, growing, and extremely dynamic. [I see] many years of very good growth in this region,” Dr Azita Owlia, Bayer’s senior vice president of business unit polyurethanes Asia-Pacific, told ICIS news.

 

“We are determined to be the supplier of choice for our customers in this market, by being able to supply our materials more efficiently with local production and to support them with customised solutions through our BaySystems network,” she said.

 

In this year’s fourth quarter, the company planned to inaugurate its BaySystems facility in Guangzhou, the company said.

 

The facility would offer a full range of ready-made and customised polyurethanes solutions and was well positioned to support the needs of China’s rapidly growing industries, such as footwear, furniture and automotive, she said.

 

“Whether it is used in buildings, cars, refrigerators, or in other applications, our polyurethane-based solutions can help us address today’s climate problems, and enable us to achieve a more sustainable future,” said Owlia.

 

Meanwhile, the company’s new 350,000 tonne/year methylene diphenyl di-isocyanate (MDI) plant in Caojing would also start-up later this year, the company said, adding it housed the world's largest single train MDI unit.

 

In late August, the company said it planned to start building a 250,000 tonne/year toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) plant in Shanghai and expected to commission it in 2010.

 

TDI and MDI are key feedstocks for PU production.

 

Vera Huang of CBI contributed to this article

 

To discuss issues facing the chemicals industry visit ICIS connect

 

By: Judith Wang
+65 6780 4359

< previous article(ICIS Podcast: Chemical News Central 2 November 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly