Nouryon Celebrates 25 years of Surfactants Production in China

Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals) celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Boxing site, one of the company’s first chemical production locations in China. The site has grown to become an integral part of the company’s surfactants production network via a series of investments, including a €4.8 million expansion that was completed at the end of 2017.

The site, which now employs around 230 people, produces many high-value products and serves customers in various markets such as personal care, asphalt, construction, and cleaning.

“Boxing plays a critical role in maintaining our market-leading position, and I want to thank our employees, customers and partners, and the Shandong provincial authorities and local Binzhou City and Boxing County governments for their continued confidence and support,” said AB Ghosh, managing director Surface Chemistry.

“A lot of our success in China is due to our efforts to support a more sustainable chemical industry and introduce more environmentally friendly surfactants.”

Nouryon started production in China in the early 1990s and currently employs nearly 1,400 people across nine locations in the country. Besides expanding its surfactants capacity, the company is also investing in capacity to serve the polymers market, including a €90 million organic peroxides production facility in Tianjin and a major expansion of dicumyl peroxide production capacity at Ningbo.

“We’ve been investing heavily in our Chinese sites and we expect this to continue as we want to strengthen our capabilities to help us meet our ambitious global growth targets,” Nouryon CEO Charlie Shaver said.