Covestro to build new TPU application development centre in China

Guangzhou, China – Covestro has announced plans to build a new thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) application development centre for Asia-Pacific region in in Guangzhou in South China.

The unit will enhance customer proximity and improve foster cross-functional synergies, providing services in key applications including films (PPF), speciality cables, consumer electronics, footwear and further extrusion and injection applications.

The new investment follows Covestro’s announcement last year that it was building its “largest TPU plant” in the nearby Chinese coastal city of Zhuhai. (ERJ report).

Construction work on the new facility is set to start in late 2024 with operation scheduled for 2025, Covestro announced 16 Sept.

The centre will feature “advanced equipment to address complex market demands” and will employ local skilled forces.

The new application development centre will enable Covestro to tap into the “vibrant Asia-Pacific and especially the Chinese market,” said Dr Andrea Maier-Richter, EVP and global head of TPU at Covestro.

The centre, she added, will also contribute to developing more sustainable TPU solutions.

Together with the ongoing investment in Zhuhai, Maier-Richter said Covestro “will soon run two powerful engines in two major cities.”

The German chemicals supplier also operates another TPU R&D centre in Changhua, Taiwan, serving the APAC region.

The centre, according to Kevin Ho, head of sales & market development for TPU in APAC, will engage with major TPU industry clusters across China and APAC, particularly in consumer electronics and speciality extrusion applications.