(Ulsan, Korea) has established a new subsidiary, Songwon Japan KK, continuing an expansion begun at the firm in late 2007. Since then the company has added offices in Russia and now Japan, and signed distribution agreements with two businesses in India. According to firm officials it has doubled its sales in the last few years as it develops its own sales network in Europe and North America. Speaking with MPW earlier this year at PlastIndia, a Songwon official speculated the company soon would open a subsidiary in the Middle East, too.

Songwon supplies a broad range of additives including antioxidants, light stabilizers, light absorbers, heat stabilizers, and plasticizers. Until just a few years ago, the company had been active primarily in Asia, with Clariant its distributor for antioxidants in the rest of the world, but that agreement ended in early 2008.

Leading the new operation in Japan is Ikuo Wakasugi, a veteran in the country’s additives market. —[email protected]