Royal DSM has announced that its joint venture company, Jinling DSM Resins Co., Ltd. (JDR) will invest approximately € 50 million in a new production facility for composite resins in Nanjing, China. The new facility, which will replace the current facility, is expected to be among the largest manufacturing plants for composite resins in the world. DSM's share in the investment is 75%.

 The new facility is expected to substantially strengthen the local position of the joint venture in the markets for composite materials in China. DSM holds 75% of the shares in JDR whereas Sinopec Assets Management Co. Ltd. holds 25% in the joint venture.  The expansion follows on the continued strong demand for high-end resins in all the application segments in the region. The new unit is expected to come on stream early 2012.

 Nico Gerardu, Member of the DSM Managing Board and responsible for the Performance Materials cluster, said: "This investment perfectly fits in our strategy DSM in motion: driving focused growth. For several years in a row demand for composite resins in China has been larger than the capacity to produce. With this large investment in local manufacturing capacity DSM is preparing itself to take our growth in China in composite resins to the next level. It will also contribute to our 2015 target of doubling DSM's sales in China compared to 2010 to over USD 3 billion."

 Dimitri de Vreeze, President DSM Resins, added: "With this new factory, in combination with the new R&D Center for composite materials in Shanghai which we announced in October 2010, we, together with our JV partner Sinopec look with confidence to a bright future ahead for our composite resins business in China."

 According to DSM, the investment allows DSM to further drive its growth in China in sustainable, innovative solutions. “Composite resins can create ecological benefits throughout the whole value chain (with end-markets such as transportation, wind energy, tanks, pipes & relining and building and construction) by reducing energy use, emissions and waste. Many of DSM's innovations in composite resins are ECO+ products - products and services that, when considered over their whole life cycle, offer clear ecological benefits compared to the mainstream solutions they compete with,” the company said in a statement.