Arkema starts emulsion polymer facility in China

French firm, Arkema, has started commercial production at its 60,000 MTY emulsion polymers facility, built with an investment of $30-million, 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 is located in Arkema’s Changshu manufacturing complex, the company’s largest manufacturing complex worldwide.
 
Richard Jenkins, Global Group President of Arkema Coating Resins, said, “The full startup of this new facility is an important event for our customers in the Asia Pacific region. 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.”
 
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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 centre, opened in fall 2013.