Clariant Officially Opens Chinese Catalyst Site
With much fanfare, Swiss specialty chemicals producer Clariant has opened a new production facility for its Catofin-branded catalysts completed late last year at Jiaxing in China’s Zhejiang Province.
Clariant said new plants such as this, built at a cost of 80 million Swiss francs, form a core element of its “Greater chemistry – between people and planet” philosophy and also further deepen its footprint in China, where it already produces catalysts at Jinshan and operates a catalyst R&D center at its One Clariant Campus in Shanghai.
“This investment is part of our strategy to strengthen our regional footprint and increase the share of local production in China with leading catalysts technology in a strongly growing segment,” said Jens Cuntze, president of Clariant Catalysts & Asia Pacific.
The Catofin PDH catalysts are used to produce olefins such as propylene. Additionally, Clariant has developed a specialty material called Heat Generating Material (HGM), which it said reduces the energy consumption of the technology by up to one-third, further highlighting the advantages of this exceptionally reliable, high-yield catalyst solution.
Jace Wang, head of propylene at Clariant Catalysts, said the new Chinese facility offers “significantly more” production capacity for the popular, high-value catalyst in a market that is seeing rapidly increasing demand. The state-of-the-art plant’s digitalized operations are essential to be able to continue making high-quality catalyst while boosting productivity rates, Clariant said.
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
