Evonik expands in China to meet robust demand for specialty chemicals

Germany-based specialty chemicals producer Evonik said today it is expanding in China to meet robust demand arising from its industrial upgrading.

China contributes around 12 percent to Evonik’s global sales and dominates the north Asia Pacific market which accounts for 17 percent of the company’s growth, said Claas-Jürgen Klasen, its president for north Asia Pacific.

Evonik has posted growth “almost across all business sectors in China ranging from coatings to catalysts” over the first three quarters, and it expects to expand further after opening a plant in Shanghai two months ago to localize production of silicon products used in composite materials and paints, said Yin Wei, the company's vice president.

The company has also opened an office in Sichuan Province to distribute products around mid and west China “as demand there, especially from construction and infrastructure, is growing faster than the rest of the region,” Klasen told Shanghai Daily.