Expansions: Covestro launches TPU production site in South China; Chemco opens rPET plant in Gujarat

German materials firm Covestro has commenced production at its new thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) manufacturing site in Zhuhai, a coastal city in South China. The first phase, representing a mid-double-digit million-euro investment, will produce approximately 30,000 tonnes/year of TPU, meeting growing demand for this versatile material across industries including IT, automotive and footwear.

The investment in this entirely new site, originally announced in 2023, marks a significant milestone in Covestro’s region-for-region strategy and its commitment to growth in its Solutions & Specialties business. The Zhuhai site will be developed in three phases across a 45,000-sq-m area, with maximum production capacity estimated to reach 120,000 tonnes/year upon completion of the final phase, expected in the 2030s. This will then make it the company’s largest TPU production facility globally.

The Zhuhai site will be strategically supported by a regional TPU R&D Centre in Changhua and a new TPU application development (AD) centre in nearby Guangzhou, which integrate technical acumen with innovative solutions and tailored services.

Together, these facilities are expected to generate powerful regional synergies through collaborative and complementary strengths, positioning Covestro optimally to serve its customers throughout the region.

The Zhuhai site is capable of producing TPU with the label “CQ”. Covestro materials with this designation contain at least 25% alternative, non-fossil raw materials, supporting customers in reducing their carbon footprint in final products, especially important in sectors such as electronics where sustainability has become a global trend.

In other news, India’s Chemco Group has commissioned a new EUR11.6 million PET recycling plant in Sanand, Gujarat, designed to process over 1 billion post-consumer bottles annually. The facility produces food-grade recycled PET (rPET) for direct food/beverage applications, featuring a Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ line, strengthening India's bottle-to-bottle circular economy.

The company said the site is designed to maintain international standards for quality and safety, with the recycled material being approved by both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as well as meeting food-contact plastics requirements from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Operations at Sanand also comply with guidelines from the Bureau of Indian Standards concerning recycled materials.

By developing in-house recycling capabilities, Chemco empowers its brand partners to fulfil recycled-content mandates, extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements and sustainability goals while maintaining product performance and food safety standards, it added.

The plant employs a closed-loop system, giving Chemco oversight throughout the recycling process and reducing dependence on external suppliers.

In 2024, Chemco announced an investment to expand its rigid packaging production capacity in Bahrain.

This initiative marked Chemco's third expansion in the country since it first set up a factory at the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) in 2013.

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