US coatings producer Axalta is planning to build a new plant in The National Chemical Industrial Park (NCIP) in Nanjing, China. The facility will manufacture a broad range of te company’s products, including primers, basecoats, clearcoats and resin intermediates, as well as the company’s AquaEC line of electrocoats and Voltatex Energy Solutions coatings. The facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020, with a product distribution center and initial production online by early 2019. The logistics hub will be a distribution point for the Philadelphia-headquartered group’s refinish and industrial products serving customers in the southern and central regions of China. Eventually, the plant will be Axalta’s third-largest global operations center.

“China is a strategic market for us and we continue to invest in our manufacturing capacity and network there to enable us to more effectively serve our customers and to raise our service standards to support their growth,” commented Charlie Shaver, Axalta’s chairman and CEO. Axalta said it has invested a total of nearly $100 million in China since 2013. Luke Lu, corporate vice president and president of Axalta in Greater China, said the coatings company looks forward to continued opportunities for growth and anticipates spending between $100 million and $150 million over the next three to five years toward the Nanjing project.

Preparation has begun with Axalta liaising with local authorities to start the design phase and develop engineering specifications. However, the project remains subject to final approvals by the company and by government and local authorities. Axalta’s new Asia Pacific Technology Center in Shanghai is scheduled to open in early 2017. This facility will research and develop new coating applications and support customers’ needs across the region.