Hempel Opens New Production Facility in China

Three years after announcing plans to invest in two new production facilities in China, Hempel has officially commenced operations in Zhangjiagang to serve customers in the region. The opening ceremony was attended by government officials from Jiangsu province, representatives from the Royal Danish Consulate General in Shanghai, customers, suppliers and members of Hempel's senior management. Katarina Lindstroem, Operations Director and Deputy General Manager of Hempel, said, "Today is truly a day worth celebrating. Both our teams in Zhangjiagang and Yantai have made tremendous efforts to make this happen and I am proud of the results. The commissioning of Zhangjiagang is an important step in better serving our customers in the maritime, energy and infrastructure sectors. This new location will significantly improve time to market for both products and services, particularly at the shipyards stretching along the Yangtze." There is substantial demand for antifouling coatings given that a large portion of global maritime construction activities are located in China and more than 50 percent of Chinese shipyards are situated within a 200 km radius around Zhangjiagang. As ship owners and operators worldwide continuously seek fuel efficiency improvements, sales of silicon-based antifouling coatings such as Hempel's Hempaguard have grown exponentially. The Zhangjiagang facility is expected to gradually increase capacity to reach 100 million litres annually by 2025 and has potential to further increase production to meet future demand. Source