Specialty chemical maker Cognis said last week that it has opened a factory in China to make polyol ester refrigeration lubricants. The facility cost 6 million (U.S. $7.4 million) and is located in the city of Jinshan, near Shanghai.
Cognis officials said the plant will help meet rising demand in China but will also export to other parts of Asia.
As well as satisfying demand in the fast-growing Chinese market, the facility also enables us to supply other countries in that region, such as Korea and India, Global Vice President of Synlubes Technology Achim Pfeiffer said. The plant represents a further component of our global strategy of being close to our customers and manufacturing our products right where we need them.
The Jinshan plant is the second polyol ester factory that Cognis has opened in the past two years. In 2004, it opened a plant in Jacarei, Brazil.
Oils from the Jinshan plant will be sold by Japan Sun Oil, Cognis exclusive marketing partner in the Asia-Pacific region.
Based in Dusseldorf, Germany, Cognis is a major international seller of synthetic lubricants. It also supplies chemicals derived from plant oils for applications such as cosmetics, detergents, coatings, inks and textiles.