Groundbreaking ceremony for Evonik’s new isophorone plants in Shanghai

20-06-2012: On June 19th, 2012, Evonik Industries held the ground-breaking ceremony for the new production plants for the manufacture of isophorone and isophorone diamine in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). The Group is investing more than €100 million in the plants, which are scheduled to come on stream in the first quarter of 2014, after completion of a roughly two-year construction phase.

The groundbreaking will be a milestone for Evonik: "This integrated production platform shall reinforce our presence in an important market and enable us to supply the growing needs of our customers in China and the entire Asia Pacific region", emphasized Dr. Dahai Yu, member of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries, during a press conference on June 18th, 2012 in Shanghai. "This investment shall also consolidate our position as a worldwide leading manufacturer of the isophorone chemistry." Products from the new facilities will primarily serve markets in China and Asia Pacific, with an annual capacity of 50kt.

In addition Evonik is installing a new Technical Service Center at its Xinzhuang site in Shanghai. The facility will include state-of-the-art laboratories for applied technology with aims to develop isophorone product applications and provide technology service for customers throughout in the region.