Thanks to a booming local market and its existing industrial bases, China’s fluoropolymer industry continues to attract foreign investment, a recent report by market researcher CCM International (Guangzhou / China; www.cnchemicals.com) has found. Overall, the country’s high-performance chemicals sector, which includes fluoropolymers as well as titanium dioxide, is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 6-8% in the future as both Chinese and foreign players strive to meet rising demand by further raising output. Worth almost USD 103m in 2010, China’s fluoroelastomer market alone is expected to reach USD 167m by 2015, as demand from the country’s automotive sector continues to rise, CCM International predicts.

There are a number of factors that make China a particularly attractive location for foreign investment in the field of fluorochemicals especially. They include not only the country’s resource advantages, but also government incentives, including the Guided Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment, published in 2011, in which the state specifically encourages the sector’s development. Another reason why foreign companies especially want to set up shop in China, CCM International says, is the fact that the government has restricted the country’s fluorite export, forcing multinationals that feel the strain of short supply to locate their production in the country.

Last year alone, a number of players launched new initiatives to exploit this trend, including DuPont China Holding (Shanghai / China) – the local subsidiary of US chemical giant DuPont (Wilmington, Delaware; www.dupont.com). In September 2011, the company entered into an agreement with one of China’s leading fluoride manufacturers, Shanghai 3F New Materials (www.sh3f.com), to set up a 50:50 joint venture in Changshu, Jiangsu – see Plasteurope.com of 30.09.2011. The unit, exact capacities of which remain unclear, reportedly started operations this year.

Literally falling over each other to get a slice of China’s fluoropolymers pie are Japanese companies, including Daikin Industries (Osaka / Japan; www.daikin.com), which in September last year touted plans to set up a new ZEFFLE fluoropolymer coatings facility at its Daikin Fluorochemicals (China) subsidiary, located in Changshu, Jiangsu. The USD 15.4m facility is due to start up in June 2013 and will cater mostly to the solar battery market.

The Japanese group last year also announced plans to build a new line for its “Dai-el” fluoroelastomer family in Changshu at an overall investment cost of almost USD 38.5m, CCM International reports – see also Plasteurope.com of 04.08.2011. Daikin did not say how much the new plant – scheduled to come on stream in January next year – will turn out, saying only that it would raise its existing output by 60%.

Another Japanese player that is leaving its mark on China’s fluorochemical scene is Kureha (Tokyo; www.kureha.co.jp), which started work on its new 5,000 t/y PVDF facility in Changshu early this year – see Plasteurope.com of 18.06.2012. The plant is due to start operations in early 2014.

It would be wrong, however, to think that China’s fluorochemical market is dominated by foreign players alone. A number of local companies cavort the scene, too, including Zhejiang Juhua (Quzhou, Zhejiang / China; www.jhgf.com.cn) – part of local chemical giant Juhua Group Corporation (Hangzhou, Zhejiang; www.juhua.com). Zhejiang Juhua boasts a wide fluorochemicals portfolio, including PTFE, FEP and PCE, among others.

In late December 2011, Zhejiang Juhua touted plans to enter the field of ultra-high molecular weight PTFE production. Specifically, the group said it wold invest USD 3m in a 65:35 joint venture with Taiwanese investor Wu Huisheng to establish Zhejiang Quzhou Xinju Fluoride Materials Company, which – once operational in early 2013 – is expected to turn out 600 t/y of UHMW PTFE, CCM International said.

For more information, visit www.cnchemicals.com or contact May Liu at emarket1@cnchemicals.com