Axalta growth continues with Chinese plant
Axalta Coating Systems has announced it will build a new manufacturing plant in Nanjing, China.
The 170,000m2 site, which will be the company’s third largest operations centre, is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020 with a product distribution centre and initial manufacturing capability expected to come online by early 2019.
It will manufacture a broad range of Axalta products, including primers, basecoats, clearcoats and resin intermediates. It will also produce Axalta’s AquaEC line of electrocoats and Voltatex family of Energy Solutions coatings.
Additionally, the facility will serve as a logistics centre and distribution point for Axalta’s refinish and industrial products for customers located in southern and central parts of the country.
Charlie Shaver, Axalta chairman and CEO, ‘China is a strategic market for us and we continue to invest in our manufacturing capacity and network there to enable us to more effectively serve our customers and to raise our service standards to support their growth.’
Zhu Yuanshen, deputy director of the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park Management Committee, added, ‘We believe that as a leading global coatings supplier, Axalta can bring its state-of-the-art manufacturing technology into its new production base, and produce environmentally responsible high-performance coatings so as to support and contribute to the local economy and to the sustainable development of China’s automotive enterprises.’
‘We are very grateful for the excellent cooperation and guidance provided by the authorities in Nanjing who are helping to turn our vision into reality,’ said Luke Lu, Axalta vice president and president of Axalta in Greater China. ‘We look forward to continued opportunities to grow in China.’
Construction of the new Nanjing plant will utilise the latest generation technology from engineering design, materials and equipment to production processes. The facility will also employ the latest emission mitigation systems and technology available to minimize energy consumption, waste discharge and resource utilisation. These features will enable the new facility to align with Axalta’s global sustainability guidelines to protect the environment.
