SUZHOU, China — April 17, 2014 — Americhem Inc., a global provider of custom color and additive solutions for polymeric products, has announced it is expanding its plant in Suzhou, China, to better meet the needs of its customers in the Asia Pacific region. The expansion will double the size and the capacity of the plant and is scheduled to be completed in October 2014.
“This exciting project is in direct response to customer demand in the region,” said John Deignan, president of Americhem. “The plant has been running at or near its current capacity for some time and this project will allow Americhem to grow along with its customers.”
The expansion will add roughly 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space, which will double the footprint of the current facility that serves as Americhem’s sales and manufacturing headquarters for the Asia Pacific region. Americhem will install a new high-capacity manufacturing line and recommission existing lines, with the net effect of doubling the existing production capacity. The expanded footprint of the plant will allow for multiple installations of additional production lines in the future.
“We will be well-positioned for future growth as a result of our customers’ success, Americhem’s innovations and this plant expansion,” said Stanley Teoh, Americhem’s general manager for the Asia Pacific region. “We have certainly come a long way since our plant first began making products in 2006.”
In addition to the expansion in the manufacturing space, the company will enlarge and renovate its laboratories, enabling more work on new products. Aside from its own masterbatch products, Americhem plans to manufacture compounds on behalf of its sister company, Americhem Infinity Engineered Compounds, when the project is complete. Also slated for installation is new auxiliary equipment to meet the requirements of the new manufacturing capacity.
Teoh indicated that Americhem’s Asia Pacific business unit has experienced significant growth for the past several years, necessitating the expansion. The building project itself is projected to be complete in June 2014, while the new manufacturing equipment will be in place by October 2014. “We will have lots of room for additional expansion within our facility when the project is done,” Teoh noted.
Posted June 18, 2014
Source: Americhem