Zhangjiagang, 5 October 2002 —Asahi-DuPont POM (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd. will officially start work on the construction of its POM (acetal) production facility when it hosts a groundbreaking ceremony at its site in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, on 5 October. This date has been specially chosen to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Zhangjiagang city and thus not only underlines the great progress made in its Economic Development Zone since the city’s establishment but also highlights the excellent opportunities it offers for potential growth.
Asahi-DuPont POM (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between Asahi Kasei Corporation of Japan and DuPont China Holding Co. Ltd. that has been set up to produce and market acetal copolymer resins in China. The groundbreaking ceremony is the latest milestone in the establishment of the joint venture, which is proceeding according to plan. The facility is scheduled to start up by spring 2004 with an initial annual production capacity of 20,000 tons that will be stepped up progressively to 60,000 tons.
The new facility will help meet the burgeoning demand for POM in China. Currently estimated at over 100,000 tons per year, the market is expected to expand rapidly, making China the world’s fastest growing POM market. The capacity offered by the new plant is critical for the success of Asahi Kasei performance plastics and DuPont’s engineering polymers in China, and the groundbreaking ceremony underscores the confidence Asahi Kasei and DuPont have in the Chinese POM market. Once the facility comes on stream in 2004, it is hoped it will provide a huge boost to the local economy while representing another successful step in the development of the joint venture.
The 50:50 partnership between Asahi Kasei and DuPont is based on firm foundations, as it combines the technological and marketing expertise of the two partners. The co-operation will not only produce a competitive supply of products that meet the needs of the growing market, but will also provide a timely and efficient response to rapidly changing and emerging customer requirements. The joint venture will handle the product marketing and distribution within China itself, but the two partners will continue to use their own established networks to market products supplied by this joint venture outside China.
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