Rohm and Haas forms Chinese JV

Pending Chinese government approval, additive supplier Rohm and Haas Co. (Philadelphia, PA) has entered into a joint venture with Weihai Jinhong Polymer Co. Ltd. to supply polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products for the construction and packaging industries.

Based from Jinhong’s facility in Weihai City, the operation will produce methacrylate butadiene styrene (MBS), acrylic impact modifiers (AIM), and acrylic processing aids for Chinese distribution. The move extends Rohm and Haas’s manufacturing footprint beyond its current Asian facilities in Singapore and Japan, and the company says it will allow it to cater to specific Chinese market needs. Founded in 1986, Weihai Jinhong’s main products are PVC additives, including chlorinated polyethylene (15,000 tonnes output), AIM, MBS, and acrylic processing aids (20,000 tonnes output).

Under terms of the agreement, Jinhong contributes its Weihai plant and Rohm and Haas will bring cash to improve manufacturing, giving it a 51% stake, with operations beginning in Q1 2007. Rohm and Haas’s goal is to double Chinese sales by 2010. On Dec. 12, the company opened a $60-million Asia-Pacific Manufacturing and Technical Center in Taiwan to serve the semiconductor industry. In September, the company opened a $30-million China Research and Development Center in Shanghai as part of its 2010 Strategic Plan that aims, among other things, to double electronic material sales to $2.6 billion in three years. That plan also reorganized Rohm and Haas’s businesses into four core groups: Specialty Materials, Primary Materials, Electronic Materials, and Performance Materials, with packaging, building, and acrylics falling under specialty materials.—[email protected]