Clariant Building New Catalyst Production Facility

Specialty chemical firm Clariant is building a new catalyst production facility in Jiaxing, China to support the country’s propane dehydrogenation market and petrochemical industry, a company release announced Friday.

Construction on the plant, located in the Dushan Port Economic Development Zone, commenced in the third quarter of 2020. Slated to reach full capacity by 2022, the facility will produce CATOFIN brand catalysts for PDH, which are used to make olefins like propylene.

“As we have defined the right portfolio for Clariant’s focused growth strategy, it is now vital that we invest in these core high-value specialty businesses, such as catalysts, to put them in the strongest possible market positions,” said Clariant Chief Operating Officer Hans Bohnen in a statement. “China continues to be a growth market with attractive prospects for Clariant. This investment will be of great benefit to our company’s positioning and customer proximity in the entire region.”

The site will be the firm’s third catalyst manufacturing plant in the country. Clariant said its Jiaxing plant will be the most “digitized facility” in its catalysts production network, featuring a range of automation systems in its production process.

“The Jiaxing CATOFIN plant is a key component of our China strategy and further improves our commitments to the country’s growing PDH market,” Stefan Heuser, senior vice president and general manager of Clariant Catalysts, in the release. “It is another example of how we continue to strengthen our presence in the region in order to expand our local capacity to meet our customers’ needs.”