Covestro: New plants for polyurethane dispersions and polyester resins

Covestro is planning a new production facility for polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) at the Covestro Integrated Site in Shanghai, China (CISS) to address the rising demand for environmentally compatible coatings and adhesives in the Asia-Pacific region. A further line for polyester resins, from which PUDs are produced, is also to be built there. The plants are due to be completed in 2024.

Covestro's existing production plant for polyurethane dispersions in Shanghai. (Source: Covestro)

"With these investments, we are preparing for the continued growth in demand for these products and expanding our leading global position," says Michael Friede, Global Head of the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties segment at Covestro. "In the future, customers will continue to rely on replacing solventbased products with more sustainable waterborne systems with equally good properties. Thanks to our versatile production, we are at the same time flexible and can satisfy many different requirements."

Covestro develops tailor-made PUDs for a wide range of industries, thereby creating new growth opportunities. The areas of application for polyurethane dispersions are highly diversified. For instance, Covestro raw materials from the Bayhydrol UH, U and UV series and Bayhytherm are used in basecoats for automotive primary and refinish coatings, as well as in wood and furniture coatings and robust floor coatings. Adhesives formulated with Dispercoll U are used in furniture and shoe manufacturing as well as in the automotive industry. The low-solvent components also play an important role in the production of coated textiles and fiber-reinforced plastics.

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