Clariant launches new masterbatches production facility to capture growing demand in China

• New Guangzhou facility to supply specialty black masterbatches locally
• Packaging, consumer goods, fiber, automotive and E&E industries benefit from better product access and service proximity
• Clariant further steps up its “Fringe to Core” China strategy

Shanghai, May 24, 2019 – Clariant today launched a new facility in Guangzhou, China, dedicated to the manufacturing and supply of specialty black masterbatches that are in high demand in a great number of consumer goods sectors, to specially address the fast-growing China market. Officiating the opening ceremony were Clariant customers and company leaders, and Clariant pledged its continued commitment to local customers in China.

With Black PET/PA masterbatches for fiber already developing into a sizable business in China and some other Asian countries, the new production facility in Guangzhou will supplement existing supply from Clariant’s facility in Taiwan, which has been already fully utilized, to jointly deliver product and service excellence in its Greater China Region.

Ever since 1995, Clariant Masterbatches has established its production presence in Guangzhou focusing on products for fiber, consumer goods and packaging applications. In 2017, to better satisfy a growing demand for Engineering Plastics (EP) and High Temperature Resins (HTR) with local capabilities, Clariant expanded its Shanghai facility to support China’s E&E market with high-performance and reliable compound masterbatches solutions. With the previously mentioned Taipei site, Clariant has altogether 3 masterbatches production sites in the Greater China region.

“Since 2016, we’ve been increasing our investments in equipment upgrade and facilities expansion to boost capacities and capabilities of the Clariant plants in China, Singapore and the US. The expanded new production line here in Guangzhou, with a CHF 5 million of investment volume, will enhance our full range service in supplying specialty black masterbatches products for the market of packaging, consumer goods, fiber, automotive and E&E. It also allows us to better serve local expectations and continue our committment to main local customers in the segments,” said Bernd Hoegemann, Clariant’s Head of Business Unit Masterbatches.

Together with this new production facility, a state-of-art workshop and an upgraded advanced lab were also newly established with customized services to echo unique performance requirements from its main customers in the special segments, as part of Clariant’s long term solutions and commitments for customer centricity in the China market. These newly added facilities, with Clariant’s existing capacities, will help the company further consolidate its position as a leading player in the masterbatches field in China today.

“The new facilities here and additional projects in the pipeline in China are enabling us deliver on our corporate vision of bringing China further from the fringe to the core of our development at Clariant, a strategy we call Fringe to Core (F2C),” said Fu Cai Wang, Clariant’s China President. “The new workshop, the lab and the added production line are helping us better satisfy the needs of our local customers and further establish our footprints in the market, which is anticipated to sustain near-term growth in the foreseeable future.”