Ticona Manufacturing, Technical And Commercial Resources Deliver Performance Driven Solutions To China And Throughout Asia

Shanghai, China – Ticona Engineering Polymers recently showcased its local manufacturing capability, design and application development support, and comprehensive technical and processing knowledge at Chinaplas 2008 in the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, held April 17-20.

"In China and the rest of Asia, Ticona is strategically positioning itself to deliver the right material to meet our customer application requirements and the right people to deliver the best solutions fast," said Sandra Beach Lin, president of Ticona. "The key is our people, who not only are the best technical minds, but also the leading market experts."

Ticona is making a series of multi-year investments in China and throughout Asia that will provide technical resources and development facilities focused on customer application development, and regional world-scale monomer, polymer and compounding production facilities for products that will enable customers in Asia to accelerate their growth. These investments include:

• More than 70 sales, marketing and development resources throughout Asia, with up to 10 offices in China alone — 2008
• Celstran long-fiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFRT) manufacturing, Nanjing, China — Q1 2008
• Chinese-language Web site (www.ticona.cn) that integrates online tools and material technology content — Q1 2008
• Customer Application Development Center, Shanghai — Q2 2008
• GUR ultra-high molecular weigh polyethylene (UHMW-PE) manufacturing Nanjing, China — Q3 2008
• Compounding Unit, Nanjing, China — Q1 2009
• Vectra liquid crystal polymer (LCP) Production — Being planned
• Celcon/Hostaform polyoxymethylene (POM) Production — Being planned

In addition to local manufacturing and compounding, Ticona will conduct direct sales of its trademarked engineering polymers including Celcon/Hostaform POM, Vectra LCP and Celanex Thermoplastic Polyester (PBT) to customers in China and throughout Asia.

"Our investments in people, technical resources and production facilities in China and all of Asia are strengthening global supply and service capabilities of Ticona beyond our current operations," said Wilfried Jobst, Asia commercial leader of Ticona. "This represents our strong underlying commitment to support our customers and deliver the key polymer products they demand."

Ticona is a global company that has strong relationships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tier suppliers throughout the Americas and Europe. These relationships put Ticona in a unique position to help its customers in Asia rapidly transfer technology that will serve their local customer base.

"Our global reach, extensive product portfolio, and engineering and technical capabilities enable us to work with our customers in China and throughout Asia at any stage in their development process — from initial concept to full production," said Louie Wang, China business manager of Ticona. "Whenever we collaborate on a project our design and application development team can translate the global experience gained from thousands of previous customer projects to quickly help solve the design and engineering challenges our customers in Asia face."

Another major advantage customers derive from working closely with Ticona is the vast polymer technical and application experience they can access to develop eco-friendly innovation. For example:

• Ticona is applying its global technological expertise to help reduce CO₂ emissions and improve fuel economy. One area of innovation involves bio-fuel applications where Hostaform POM provides the chemical resistance and permeation resistance to hydrocarbons and dimensional stability.
• Coal-fired power plants worldwide use air filter systems that rely on air filter bags made of Fortron polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fibers. In China, the chemical resistant, high heat Fortron PPS can help reduce particulate emissions as coal-fired power generation doubles by 2020.
• As a leading supplier of Vectra LCP for complex, miniature connectors, Ticona is applying its technical and material expertise to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting, including state-of-the-art auto headlamp assemblies and advanced street lighting, which provide a reliable light source that uses 60 to 90 percent less energy.
• Ticona GUR UHMW-PE can enable all regions of the world to get access to safe drinking water more efficiently and economically than bottled water. The Ticona contribution is in the carbon block filters that use GUR UHMW-PE as a proprietary binding agent to increase water filtration efficiency. In Asia, GUR UHMW-PE is used as a pre-filter to remove sediment from drinking water.

"With manufacturing, material, design, technical, account and customer resources in the Americas, Europe and Asia, Ticona has the global footprint and dedication to provide the same brand experience to all its customers, whether they are in Frankfurt, Germany, Detroit, Michigan, or Shanghai, China," said Ticona vice president Roeland Polet. "This is especially true today for a customer base that expects and requires Ticona to provide the same grades with the same performance characteristics and the same specifications on a global basis."

SOURCE: Ticona Engineering Polymers