U.S.-based Ascend Performance Materials signed an investment agreement to construct a new hexamethylene diamine and specialty chemicals plant in Jiangsu's Lianyungang.
The factory will be located in the Xuwei New Area Park. The new plant will be Ascend's first chemical production facility and the largest investment the company has made outside of the United States.
"Our growth is driven by increasing market demand and growing collaboration with our customers globally," said Phil McDivitt, Ascend's president and CEO. "The materials we produce are helping drive technological transformations across markets, from e-mobility to automation. Our new HMD plant positions us to continue supporting these transformations well into the future."
Ascend, a fully integrated producer of durable engineered materials, serves a variety of sectors including automotive, paints and coatings, electrical and electronics, consumer goods, and cable ties and fasteners.
"China and Asia remain high-growth markets for us," said Dr. Kevin Wu, Ascend's senior vice president and managing director for Asia. "This new plant is a symbol of our growth in the region and the partnerships we have developed. We thank the Xuwei New Area Park administrators and the officials in Lianyungang for their partnership in this project."
Ascend signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2020 during CIIE in Shanghai with Xuwei New Area Park, witnessed by the leaders of Jiangsu Province and Lianyungang.
Ascend will begin construction later this year with a plant startup targeted for the second half of 2023.