German automotive parts manufacturer ZF Friedrichshafen AG has announced plans to enhance its R&D facility in China. ZF will first undertake phased investment in its existing R&D center in Shanghai through to 2020. The firm aims to increase the workforce to 1,000 employees and install test facilities to meet automotive electrification needs, namely those for...
china
Benzyl Alcohol Prices Soar Due to Chinese Environmental Regulations
Benzyl alcohol prices have jumped to more than double those in normal international market conditions. One major Chinese company has declared a force majeure (FM), as it has been unable to maintain a supply of raw materials due to stricter environmental regulations in China. This situation has impacted markets both in and outside China, tightening...
China Aims to Grow Solid-State Lighting Into $150B Market by 2020
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and 12 other organizations recently completed a new road map for semiconductor illumination, which covers technology such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It comes as part of the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which runs from 2016 to 2020 and seeks to increase industrial concentration, innovation and luminance efficiency –...
IHS: Non-Triacetate Film to Take Lion’s Share of LCD Protector Market by 2021
A change is taking place in the market for liquid crystal display (LCD) polarizing film. While triacetate (TAC) has typically been used to protect the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in these panels, the adoption of acrylic, cycloolefin polymer (COP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films has become widespread – not only with the development of large, high-definition...
China Targets 10% Reduction in VOC Emissions by 2020
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has largely concluded discussions to formulate an action plan for preventing volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution. This new plan is to be implemented as part of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which runs from 2016 to 2020. The ministry will develop an emissions permit system to accompany the establishment of a...
Hengrui and Fraunhofer ICT to Build CFRP Tech Hub in China
Shanghai-based Hengrui Corp. will establish an advanced composite technology center (ACTC) in the Changshu National New & Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone (CNZ), located in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. This new operation will be established in collaboration with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) and enable R&D for carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), which contributes to...
Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical to Double Acrylonitrile Capacity to 520,000 Tons
Shenghong Holding Group subsidiary Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co. Ltd. has begun formulating the second phase of its petrification base. Although the company will now be scooting over to raw material procurement and product configuration, it has decided to construct an additional 260,000-ton facility for acrylonitrile (AN). The plan is to get this launched by as...
Wanda Petrochemical Group Invests 10B Yuan to Enter Ethylene Market
Wanda Petrochemical Group, an entity within the China Wanda Group, will begin ethylene production as part of a 10 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) investment. A subsidiary in the group will construct a naphtha cracker in the Dongying Economic Development Zone in Dongying, China. The initiative’s production capacity for ethylene and derivative products is expected to...
Chinese Tourists’ Binge Shopping Trend Rebounds for Japanese Cosmetics
Japan’s cosmetics are finding new demand from Chinese visitors to the country. According to a recently released Japan Tourism Agency survey conducted in April through June on consumption trends among visitors to Japan, the amount spent by individual Chinese visitors on cosmetics and perfumes was 56,237 yen ($506). This marks a significant increase over the...
China Sees Flurry of New CPL Facilities Come Online
A series of new caprolactam (CPL) facilities have been popping up in China. Shanxi Lubao Coking Group Co. Ltd. this year has brought online a new facility with a total annual capacity of 100,000 tons in the company’s home province of Shanxi. The production is characterized by a process of obtaining benzene from coal, which...
Tightened Safety Regulations in China Put Clasp on Mineral Supplies
China boasts an abundance of mineral resources to serve as chemical feedstock, including fluorite and phosphate rock. And these mineral riches have made Japan and most other countries around the world depend on China for its domestic production. China’s position is a dramatic change from where it stood before the start of 2017. Up until...
Imported US Phenol Floods into China and Elsewhere in Asia
Imports of American phenol flowing into China have increased immensely since autumn 2016. American acetone producers have received numerous business inquiries from customers wanting to use their product in the manufacture of methyl methacrylate (MMA), an ingredient used to make acrylic resin. To cope with this demand for acetone, facilities in the U.S. that produce...
China’s Tianjin Introduces New Hazardous Chemical Regulations
The Chinese city of Tianjin recently introduced a pilot program to grade hazardous chemical companies based on minor violations of safe manufacturing standards. The new system assesses Tianjin’s hazardous chemical companies according to an original checklist written up by the city. Companies that fail to meet the criteria will earn demerits. If a company receives...
China Seeks to Become Powerhouse for Smart Cars – Part 2
China is in hot pursuit of next-generation car development, with not only automakers rushing to develop the next generation of smart cars but the information and communications technology (ICT) sector as well. And now also trying to cut their way in on the action are European and U.S. auto parts manufacturers. Germany’s Continental AG entered...
China Seeks to Become Powerhouse for Smart Cars – Part 1
The Chinese market is in fervor at present over next-generation car development. Industry, academia and government are stepping up in unison to bring into reality smart cars, including electric and other eco-friendly vehicles, autonomous driving and the internet-connected car. So how should chemical and materials companies approach these trends? We decided to follow the action...
Supplies of Acetone and MMA Remain Tight Amid Higher Demand
Supplies of acetone remain tight. Acetone is primarily used for the production of methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomers, demand for which began to recover last year. Ramped up MMA production operations have thus led to greater demand for acetone as well. Acetone supplies have expanded in the U.S., leading to a surplus of phenol, another product...
China’s Kangde Group, BAIC Partner to Build Local Carbon Fiber Plant
Kangde Group, a maker of optical films and carbon fiber based in China’s Jiangsu Province, has formed a strategic partnership with major automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd. (BAIC) and the municipal government of Changzhou in Jiangsu. The three entities will work together to establish a carbon fiber production base. The partnership will see...
Japanese Auto Parts Makers Gain Traction as Chinese Industry Reaches Turning Point
The Chinese automobile industry has reached a turning point. Production rose 4.6 percent year-on-year to 13.526 million units in the first half of 2017, according to figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Sales increased 3.8 percent to 13.354 million units over the same period. Japanese parts and materials manufacturers with a presence...
Mitsubishi Electric to Boost Industrial Robot Enterprise in China
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (TYO:6503) will expand its industrial robot business in China, as increasing labor costs have led to a greater adoption of the company’s robots in areas such as smartphone assembly and other electronics manufacturing services. Sales in fiscal 2016 doubled the previous year’s figure, and 2017 is expected to see anywhere between upper...
Konica Minolta Pioneer OLED’s Nakane Talks China Business
Last month saw Konica Minolta Inc. (TYO:4902) and Pioneer Corp. (TYO:6773) integrate their organic light emitting diode (OLED) lighting businesses, giving birth to Konica Minolta Pioneer OLED Inc. With the main target for the new JV being in-vehicle lighting, the company is working toward mass production and is hopeful of its prospects for business with...
