(Yicai Global) Feb. 24 -- German polymer giant Covestro said it plans to build its largest factory for thermoplastic polyurethanes in China’s southern Guangdong province.

The new plant, to be located in the city of Zhuhai, will have an annual capacity of 120,000 tons of TPU, Leverkusen-based Covestro announced on its website yesterday, adding that investment in the plant will be in the low three-digit million euro range.

The production base will be built in three phases, with the mechanical completion of the 30,000-tons-a-year first phase estimated for the end of 2025. The final phase will be wrap up by 2033.

“With this new plant for TPU we want to capture the expected fast and high market growth of the TPU market globally, especially in Asia and China,” said Sucheta Govil, chief commercial officer at Covestro. “The production site will be able to serve both the growing Asian markets, as well as demand in Europe and North America.”

TPU is a highly versatile plastic material used to make sports shoes, information technology devices, including sweepers and smart speakers, phone cases, as well as vehicle instrument panels. South China is an important production area for these type of products.

Covestro, a leading producer of high-quality polymer materials and components which separated from German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer in 2015, set up its Shanghai production base in early 2001. 

In 2021, Covestro's global sales jumped 49 percent to EUR15.9 billion (USD16.1 billion), with over one-fifth coming from China, the firm's largest single market for 2020 and the year after. Earnings before interest and taxes were EUR2.3 billion.

Editor: Martin Kadiev