Covestro will build a thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) APAC application development (AD) center in Guangzhou in South China. It is the second investment announcement for TPU in quick succession: Just last year the company announced and started to build its largest TPU plant in the nearby coastal city of Zhuhai.
The AD center is designed to integrate technical acumen with innovative solutions and tailored services in key applications including films (PPF), specialty cables, consumer electronics, footwear and further extrusion and injection applications.
Construction is set to begin in late 2024, with the facility expected to become operational in 2025. The center will be outfitted with advanced equipment to address complex market demands and leverage local resources and networks to streamline talent and administrative management.
“Establishing this new application development center in Guangzhou is a strategically important move for us to jointly with our customers leverage on the vibrant Asia-Pacific and especially the Chinese market. The center will also contribute to developing more sustainable TPU solutions, underscoring our dedication to innovation that benefits our esteemed customers and partners,” said Dr. Andrea Maier-Richter, EVP and Global Head of TPU at Covestro.
Dr. Andrea Maier-Richter added, “Together with the ongoing investment in our largest global TPU production site in Zhuhai, we will soon run two powerful engines in two major cities. This highlights our company’s ongoing commitment to growth and its commitment to the innovative capabilities of TPU in particular”.
With the existing regional R&D center in Changhua, the ongoing construction of the largest global TPU production site in Zhuhai and the upcoming APAC application development center in Guangzhou, the collaborative and complementary strengths from the three sites are expected to drive even more powerful regional synergies.
“The new application development center in Guangzhou will play an instrumental role in engaging with major TPU industry clusters across China and APAC, particularly in consumer electronics and specialty extrusion applications,” said Kevin Ho, Head of Sales and Market Development for TPU in APAC at Covestro.
Ho added, “We are not only close to these industry clusters, we are also at the forefront of listening to our customers, partners and the industry value chain. By bolstering our AD capacities, we ever better can sense and meet the nuances and changes and navigate our solutions and services with velocity, agility and customer centricity”.
Covestro is committed to offering sustainable and circular solutions that align with its long-term goals. The Desmopan® CQ TPU portfolio is a great example, utilizing alternative raw materials such as feedstocks from waste or biomass, attributed via mass balancing.
As per the press release, the company as a whole furthermore aims to become fully circular and aims at becoming operationally climate neutrality by 2035, striving to utilize only renewable energy for its operations by then. This lowers the carbon footprint of products like TPU even further. This dedication of the company is also reflected in the investments in its new TPU properties, where such developments shall be driven further.
