AkzoNobel plans further investment in China

AkzoNobel has announced its intention to invest a further €65M in China. The investment will be used to boost capacity and significantly improve operational excellence at AkzoNobel’s Surface Chemistry manufacturing sites in Boxing and Ningbo.

More than half the money is being invested in the company’s facility in Shandong province, which was taken over as part of the acquisition of Boxing Oleochemicals in January 2012. As well as building a multipurpose reactor to expand local production capacity for amines, significant funds are also being made available to align HSE practices at the site with the rest of AkzoNobel. In Ningbo, a new alkoxylation unit will be built, bringing the total investment at the multi-site close to the €400M mark. The company currently employs more than 7000 people in China.