Hexion Completes New Application Development Center (ADC) in Shanghai, China

New facility will house R&D. This investment underscores the company's commitment to coatings and composite technologies focused on sustainable product solutions.

Hexion Inc. has successfully completed construction of its new Application Development Center (ADC) in Shanghai as part of global efforts to further strengthen its research, development and technical service capabilities. The new 4,800 square-meter ADC will support new product development and customer collaboration to accelerate growth in water-based coatings and composite applications. Craig A. Rogerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hexion, said: "The new ADC is another example of our commitment to strategically investing in our R&D footprint to increase innovation opportunities and drive growth. With commercial and R&D leaders working in nearby locations, we will leverage their diverse skills in a world-class technology environment that will ultimately benefit our customers.

The investment also demonstrates our commitment to incorporating sustainability principles into our R&D and product development initiatives to address our customers' demand for environmentally preferred solutions.

For example, we expect the new ADC to strengthen our leading position for wind energy applications in China by developing next-generation solutions based on EPIKOTE™ and EPIKURE™ epoxy systems. In addition to technologies supporting electric vehicle production, the ADC will also support further innovation based on our EPIKOTE™ and EPONOL™ resin systems for automotive applications, such as lightweight auto composite components and other technologies that enable customers to produce more durable vehicles while reducing air emissions without compromising performance. With 24 global R&D facilities, Hexion is uniquely positioned to develop tomorrow's coatings, composites and adhesive solutions," he said. Environmentally preferred solutions continue to gain momentum in the Asia Pacific region and are expected to grow further with ADC support. For example, the NextGen Epoxy™ water-based system reduces air emissions with lower volatile organic compounds while delivering coating performance comparable to solvent-based systems. Among these solutions are Cardura™ glycidyl ether for the production of water-based and ultra-high solids acrylic polyol resins, and VeoVa™ vinyl esters, a range of specialty monomers that provide cost-effective resins suitable for 1K isocyanate-free high-performance protective coatings. Hexion Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio, offers a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support to customers in the adhesives, coatings, composites and industrial markets.