Kemirawill make a multi-million euro investment in the production line expansion of sizing agent (ASA) at its Nanjing site in China, as the company says in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
Sizing
agents are used for improving water-resistance in middle to high end paper and
in packaging board. This investment in the most modern ASA production facility
globally and the only major ASA production unit in APAC, will expand Kemira's
ASA production capacity substantially. The new capacity is expected to be
available from December 2017 onwards.
"Kemira is the leading producer and supplier of sizing agents (ASA) in the
Asia-Pacific (APAC) market. In order to further strengthen our leading position
we are expanding our production in Nanjing
for the future growth. The Asian pulp and paper market is growing around 3% in
a year in total and even faster for consumer board. This is linked to the
increased living standards and the growth of online shopping. There are also
new investments of printing and writing paper machines in China, India
and the rest of South East Asia. ASA is an
important product in our TCM (Total Chemistry Management) strategy and we see
growth opportunities all over the Asia-Pacific to provide cutting edge ASA
technology and replace older sizing technologies," says Nichlas Kavander, Head of Regional
Business Unit, Pulp & Paper, APAC.
The Nanjing
site is located in the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park, Jiangsu Province. It
provides a wide range of functional and process chemicals for water-intensive
industries such as the pulp and paper industry. The total estimated annual
capacity at the site is approximately 100,000 tons. Nanjing site is equipped with cutting-edge
facilities offering the highest quality, featuring a high degree of automation
and use of sophisticated IT-systems in the production process.