Chemical companies Albemarle Corp. and Kraton Polymers recently opened new offices in Dubai and Shanghai, respectively, in response to growing markets in the Middle East and Asia.
Specialty chemicals maker Albemarle has opened a new regional sales office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, to meet growing market needs in India and the Middle East. Richmond, Va.-based Albemarle manufactures and sells lube and fuel antioxidants under the Ethanox brand name.
According to Albemarle, the demand for catalysts, polymer additives and other specialty chemicals has gone up in India and the Middle East as countries begin to build and operate refineries to upgrade crude oil, process petrochemicals and manufacture plastics and other downstream products.
Kraton has completed its multi-functional customer service center to accommodate growing business in the Asia Pacific region with the opening of its new technical center in Shanghai, China. The center offers product testing, quality assurance, customer service and packaging capabilities. The Houston-based polymer company manufactures SBS, SEBS and SEPS polymers, which are used in lubricants and other applications ranging from personal care to paving. It has production facilities in the United States, Netherlands, Germany, France, Brazil and Japan.
Earlier in the year Kraton opened a distribution center at the location, which the company said has reduced order lead times in the Asia Pacific region by as many as five weeks.