AkzoNobel to invest €45M at Ningbo plant

AkzoNobel has announced its intention to invest €45M in a Dicumyl Peroxide (DCP) plant at its Ningbo multi-site in China to meet a growing local, regional and global demand. Widely used as cross-linking agent for various polymers and copolymers, DCP can be found in a variety of products like shoe soles, cable insulation, and construction insulation.

The facility will expand AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals’ DCP production capacity by more than 30% to 25,000t and allow for future expansion as the market continues grow. Expected to be completed by mid-2014, it will be the fifth plant built on the multi-site and will benefit from the shared infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities.

According to Rob Frohn, Executive Committee member responsible for Specialty Chemicals: "The demand for our products is rapidly growing and by expanding and improving our facilities we will continue to meet our customers’ needs in China and around the world.”

AkzoNobel currently employs more than 6700 people in China, and its 2010 revenue totalled €1.3bn. The majority of revenue is generated from local demand. The company’s ambition is to achieve revenue of US$3bn in China by 2015.