AkzoNobel recently announced it has completed the expansion of its Industrial Coatings site in Songjiang near Shanghai, China, reportedly doubling annual production capacity and creating the company’s biggest packaging coatings plant in the world. Work started in 2012, when around €14 million (~ $19 million) was invested in the facility to add production lines for packaging coatings and epoxy and polyester resins. Now the largest site of its kind in the region, Songjiang is intended to serve growing consumer demand from a number of key markets.

“China remains one of our most important growth markets” said Conrad Keijzer, member of AkzoNobel’s Executive Committee responsible for Performance Coatings. “By expanding capacity at our Songjiang site, we are well-positioned to capture the ongoing demand from consumer and construction markets.”

The Songjiang facility employs close to 300 people and houses AkzoNobel’s largest research and development center in China. The company is also reportedly expanding its activities in other parts of the country, with work ongoing at sites for Powder Coatings and Decorative Paints in Chengdu, a combined investment of €50 million (~ $68 million) in one of the fastest growing regions in China.

For more information, visit www.akzonobel.com.