Covestro breaks ground on two new factories in Shanghai

* New line of waterborne polyurethane dispersions and elastomers designed to meet growing demand

* Investments totaling tens of millions of euros

* Further expansion of Covestro's largest production site

On July 8, material manufacturer Covestro held a ground-breaking ceremony in Shanghai for two new plants designed to meet the growing market demand for waterborne polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) and elastomers
.
The new facilities, with a total investment of tens of millions of euros, are located in the Covestro Shanghai integrated site
.

On July 8, the new Covestro waterborne polyurethane dispersion plant broke ground in the Shanghai Integrated Base: (from left) Cai Meihua, Covestro Coatings and Adhesives Division Asia Pacific Operations Director, and Covestro Shanghai Integrated Base General Manager Chen Dr.
Yun, Ma Jing, Director of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Management Committee, Lei Huanli, President of Covestro China, Li Jinqi, Vice President of Covestro Coatings and Adhesives Division Greater China, Li Guangming, Chairman of China Chemical Engineering Eleventh Construction Co.
, Ltd.

Lei Huanli, President of Covestro China, said: "The new projects will contribute to high-quality and sustainable development in China and beyond
.
They will also further enhance the scale and strength of Covestro's integrated base in Shanghai.
The site will play an important role in the group's goal of achieving climate neutrality in its operations by 2035.

"

Leading provider of sustainable solutions

The new PUD factory and an accompanying polyester resin production line for PUD will be completed in 2024
.
PUDs are used to produce a variety of more environmentally friendly coatings and adhesives in automotive, construction, furniture, footwear and packaging applications
.
For example, Covestro's Bayhydrol® and Bayhytherm® raw materials are used in automotive OEM and refinish coatings, wood furniture coatings and durable floor coatings, while adhesives formulated with Dispercoll® U are used in the furniture, shoe and automotive industries
.
Globally, Covestro's PUD coating raw material portfolio also includes Baybond®, Impranil®, NeoPacTM and NeoRez® for a wide range of applications
.

"Through the new investment project, we are better able to respond to the growing demand for more environmentally friendly coatings and adhesives in the global market
.
" said Zhong Xiaobin, Senior Vice President of Covestro Covestro Coatings and Adhesives Asia Pacific, "As a global leader in this field One, we will continue to follow industry trends and provide customers with more sustainable waterborne systems with the same good quality to replace solvent-based products
.
”

High-Performance Elastomers Drive Sustainable Growth

Polyurethane elastomers are widely used in offshore wind power, photovoltaic and material transportation industries
.
The new plant is expected to be operational in 2023
.
The market growth rate of these high-performance materials in China and the Asia-Pacific region is higher than that of GDP and downstream industries
.

Chen Min, Asia Pacific Director of Covestro's Elastomer Division, said: "The new polyurethane elastomer plant will ensure that we have a strong production capacity to meet customer demand
.
Our Desmodur® polyurethane elastomer products have excellent performance and will serve more Application scenarios, especially in the field of renewable energy
.
”

The new waterborne polyurethane dispersion plant is Covestro's first project with modular construction and will be completed in 2024

Since 2001, the cumulative investment of the Covestro Shanghai integrated base has reached 3.
6 billion euros
.
At present, the Shanghai integrated base has become the largest comprehensive production base of Covestro in the world, with 11 factories
.
In 2021, the Shanghai base has obtained ISCC PLUS quality balance certification, which means that it has the ability to supply raw materials with some share of renewable raw materials to customers in large quantities
.