Kemira has opened its new Asia-Pacific R&D centre in Pujiang Town, Shanghai, China, to meet the growing market demand and accelerate efforts to develop renewable, biodegradable and recyclable products in the Asian region.
With the R&D capabilities, the 2,400sqm R&D centre will offer bleaching, sizing, polymers, coagulants and biomaterial expertise as well as application solutions to China and Asia-Pacific markets. It serves Kemira’s paper and board customer base as well as water treatment growth initiatives in the region.
Michelle Xiao, director of technology, R&D, Asia-Pacific, Kemira, commented: “With the increasing market need for sustainable materials in China, we have expanded our polymer and biomaterial research capabilities to better serve our customers, and help them stay competitive in the fast-paced, cost-conscious and environmentally focused markets.”
The new centre also works with Kemira’s Nanjing and Yanzhou sites in China, and its Ulsan site in South Korea to develop consistent production processes, source new raw materials and end products. It is an integral part of Kemira’s global R&D network, in collaboration with other Kemira research centres based in Espoo, Finland; and in Atlanta, the US, to deliver innovation into global markets.
Matthew Pixton, CTO for Kemira, concluded: “Our continued investment in equipment and facilities such as our new R&D centre in Asia-Pacific region shows our commitment and strategic focus for these markets. This new R&D centre will help us develop innovative products and focus on meeting the needs of both our local customers by providing a short turnaround time and our global customers working on long-term projects.”
