05
February
2021
|
10:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Growing demand for waterborne coatings and adhesives in Asia

Covestro plans new plants for polyurethane dispersions and polyester resins

Summary
  • Significant increase of production capacity at the Shanghai site
  • Environmentally compatible products replace solvent-based types
  • Versatile applications in automobiles, furniture, textiles and shoes

Covestro is planning a new production facility for polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) at the Covestro Integrated Site in Shanghai, China (CISS) to address the rising demand for environmentally compatible coatings and adhesives in the Asia-Pacific region. A further line for polyester resins, from which PUDs are produced, is also to be built there. The plants are due to be completed in 2024.

"With these investments, we are preparing for the continued growth in demand for these products and expanding our leading global position," says Michael Friede, Global Head of the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties segment at Covestro. "In the future, customers will continue to rely on replacing solvent-based products with more sustainable waterborne systems with equally good properties. Thanks to our versatile production, we are at the same time flexible and can satisfy many different requirements."

Covestro develops tailor-made PUDs for a wide range of industries, thereby creating new growth opportunities. The company is a leader in research and development of products and process technologies and supports customers around the globe with technical service.

Wide range of applications

The areas of application for polyurethane dispersions are highly diversified. For instance, Covestro raw materials from the Bayhydrol® UH, U and UV series and Bayhytherm® are used in basecoats for automotive primary and refinish coatings, as well as in wood and furniture coatings and robust floor coatings. Adhesives formulated with Dispercoll® U are used in furniture and shoe manufacturing as well as in the automotive industry.

The low-solvent components also play an important role in the production of coated textiles and fiber-reinforced plastics.

Boilerplate

About Covestro:

With sales of EUR 12.4 billion in 2019, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main industries served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, healthcare and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) as of the end of 2019.

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports. These reports are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to make them conform to future events or developments.