Shanghai, China, - February 1st, 2005 – Solvay Padanaplast S.p.A. and Shanghai Original Enterprise Development Co. Ltd. announce today that they have signed an agreement to create a joint venture for the development, production and marketing of Halogen Free Flame Retardant (HFFR) thermoplastic and irradiation crosslinkable compounds. Both partners will hold 50% of the joint venture.
The joint venture, which was approved by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China, is scheduled to be operational from beginning of February 2005 under the name PADANAPLAST ORIGINAL ADVANCED COMPOUNDS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD. in English and 上海至正潘德那聚合物有限公司 in Chinese. The joint venture, which is located in Shanghai and essentially aims at serving the Chinese market, will have an initial production capacity of 5,000 tons per annum. The size of the company may be expanded at a later stage, in line with market demand.
“We welcome the decision of the PRC authorities to grant a business license to the joint operation of Original and Padanaplast,” said Hai Liang Hou, President of Shanghai Original Enterprise Development Co., Ltd.. “We are now in a position to deliver international quality products best suited for the rapid development of the Chinese market for HFFR compounds in the cable industry, which we expect will grow by more than 10% per annum over the next five years,” he added.
“Padanaplast Original Advanced Compounds will be the leading provider of HFFR compounds for the cable industry in China, with an extensive range which will include 20 different compounds right from the start of operations,” said Luigi. Dalpasso, Managing Director of Solvay Padanaplast S.p.A.
Solvay Padanaplast S.p.A. is a global leader in the sector of plastic compounds for crosslinkable pipe and cable markets, whose headquarter, R&D and production facilities are located near Parma in Italy, and is a major foreign supplier of Halogen Free Flame Retardant compounds in China. The company, which has annual global sales of some EUR 50 million, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Solvay SA, the international chemical and pharmaceutical Group.
Shanghai Original Enterprise Development Co., Ltd., founded in1997, has grown to be a major domestic player in the PRC wire and cable compounds market, specializing in Halogen Free Flame Retardant thermoplastic and irradiation cross-linkable compounds. The company has been granted the status of Shanghai High Tech Enterprise since 2002.
