The company plans to build a 100,000-mtpa (million tons per annum) world-scale liquid epoxy resins (LER) plant at its existing site in Zhangjiagang of Jiangsu Province, and a 150,000-mtpa epichlorohydrin (ECH) plant in the Yangtze River area in China. Both units are expected to start up in the 2009-10 period.

At the same time, Dow Epoxy plans to expand the capacity of its converted epoxy resins (CER) plant in Zhangjiagang from its current 41,000 mtpa to 75,000 mtpa.

Dow Epoxy is a leading global supplier of epoxy resins and related feedstock products with 10 manufacturing facilities worldwide including plants in Zhangjiagang in China, Gumi in South Korea, and Kinu Ura in Japan.

Dow Epoxy will also establish a Global Application Development Centre in China.

Scheduled to begin activities in the first quarter of 2007, the centre has been designed to meet the increasing demand for Dow Epoxy products and technologies in China and the broader region, and will serve as a base for ongoing product R&D, the company claimed.

"China is the world's fastest growing market for epoxy products and, together with other Asian markets, plays an important role for Dow and our customers," said Patrick Ho, business vice-president of Dow Epoxy.

The new investments demonstrate the firm's confidence and commitment to the China market and to our customers, Ho continued.

"Dow Epoxy is a leading supplier in China and the Asia-Pacific region, building on our global supply network and market-focused R&D capabilities. Our investments in ECH and LER production in China would give us in-market supply capabilities and the advantage of a fully integrated operation which would put us in a uniquely competitive position to accelerate our growth and the growth of our customers," he said.

Dow Epoxy is one of the largest ECH suppliers in the world. The new 150,000-mtpa world-scale ECH plant in China, which is expected to start up in 2010, would be the first to use a new Dow proprietary glycerine-to-epichlorohydrin technology.

Glycerine is a bio-renewable product generated during bio-diesel production.

The use of glycerine as the primary feedstock in Dow's ECH manufacturing represents a major technology breakthrough, providing significant cost and environmental advantages versus the conventional process technologies.

The new 100,000-mtpa LER plant, based on state-of-the-art technology, would be located in the Yangtze River International Chemical Park in Zhangjiagang, part of Dow's global LER supply network, which includes facilities in the United States, Germany, Italy, Brazil and Japan. The new LER plant in China is expected to start up in 2009.

Since 2003, the CER plant in Zhangjiagang has been supplying epoxy resins to high-value, downstream industries including electronics, marine, automotive and appliances. The planned capacity expansion would add 34,000 mtpa in 2008, further strengthening Dow Epoxy's ability to meet growing customer needs in China, the company said.

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