MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kemira, a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water intensive industries, opens its new APAC R&D center in Pujiang Town, Shanghai, China, to meet rapidly growing market demand and accelerate efforts to develop renewable, biodegradable and recycleable products in the Asian region, as per the company's press release.
With the state-of-the-art research and development capabilities, the 2,400 square meter R&D center will offer bleaching, sizing, polymers, coagulants and biomaterial expertise as well as application solutions to China and Asia Pacific markets. It serves Kemira’s strong paper and board customer base and supports Kemira’s water treatment growth initiatives in the region. It has been built and equipped under the highest environmental standards with facilities that remain close to customers and support employee well-being in line with Kemira’s commitment to sustainability and long term strategy.
“Kemira’s business in Asia-Pacific has grown significantly since our first R&D center was established in China in 2008,’’ says Michelle Xiao, Director of Technology, Research & Development for APAC.“ With the increasing market need for sustainable materials in China, we have expanded our polymer and biomaterial research capabilities to better serve our customers, and help them stay competitive in the fast-paced, cost-conscious and environmentally focused markets.’’
The new center also works closely with Kemira’s Nanjing and Yanzhou sites in China and its Ulsan site in Korea to develop consistent production processes, source new raw materials and end products. It is an intergral part of Kemira’s global R&D network, in collaboration with other Kemira research centers based in Espoo (Finland), and in Atlanta (USA) to deliver innovation into global markets.
As MRC reported earlier, in September 2020, Kemira signed a multi year extension of its polymer supply agreement with Ithaca Energy. Kemira said it had signed a multiyear extension to its polymer supply agreement with Ithaca Energy (Aberdeen, UK). The agreement extends the contract between the two companies, signed in 2018, covering the supply of polymers to enhance oil extraction performance at one of the assets operated by Ithaca Energy in the UK North Sea.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
Kemira is a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water intensive industries. The company's focus is on pulp & paper, water treatment and oil & gas. In 2020, Kemira had annual revenue of around EUR2.4 billion and around 5,000 employees. Kemira shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.
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