Three years after announcing plans to invest in two new production facilities in China, Hempel (Düsseldorf, Germany) announced that it has brought its Zhangjiagang site online to begin servicing customers in the region. Responding to increasing demands for innovative coatings solutions, Hempel’s new state-of-the-art production facility substantially enhances capacity to better serve marine, energy, and infrastructure customers.
According to Hempel, the Zhangjiagang facility is situated on a 136,097 square-meter (1,464,935.9 f2) site with a 37,761 square-meter (406,456.0 f2) building footprint. The facility staff totals 150 employees.
The inauguration ceremony included participation from Jiangsu province government officials, representatives from the Danish General Consulate in Shanghai, and customers, suppliers, and members of Hempel’s senior management.
“Today is a day to celebrate. Our teams, both here in Zhangjiagang and in Yantai, have put in a massive effort to make this happen and I am very proud of the results,” says Katrina Lindstroem, Hempel’s chief operating officer and executive vice president. “Getting Zhangjiagang online is a major step towards better serving our customers in the Marine, Energy, and Infrastructure sectors. This new location will significantly improve ‘time to market’ of both products and services — especially at the shipyards along the Yangtze.”
With the majority of the world’s marine newbuild business located in China, and over 50% of Chinese shipyards located in a 200 km radium around Zhangjiagang, antifouling coatings are in high demand. The Zhangjiagang site will gradually increase capacity to reach 100 million liters (~26 million gallons) annually in 2025, with the potential to further increase production to meet further demand.
Source: Hempel, www.hempel.com.