INVISTA Nylon Chemicals (China) Co. has announced plans to establish its new Asia Innovation Center in Shanghai, with the inauguration ceremony held at Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) today. As its first R&D center for nylon 6,6 application development in Asia, the project, with an investment of more than 95 million RMB ($15 million USD), marks the company’s next milestone in growing the nylon 6,6 value chain in China and will allow INVISTA to advance innovation to better meet evolving customer demands across the region.

 

Located at SCIP, INVISTA’s lab will be among the first at the Shanghai International Chemical New Materials Innovation Center (INNOGREEN). 

 

INVISTA’s new 2,500-square-meter (over 26,000 square feet) lab will be equipped with state-of-the-art polymer research and development equipment necessary for polymer application development and customer support for product trials. It will also include polymer compounding extrusion and injection molding capability, and analytical and mechanical test equipment to characterize polymer resin properties. The Asia Innovation Center will focus on the application needs in engineering polymers for key industries such as automobile and electrical & electronics. Located near INVISTA’s integrated nylon 6,6 facility in SCIP, the lab will promote INVISTA’s comprehensive nylon 6,6 capabilities in China—R&D, production, sales, technical services—to provide customers with superior quality nylon products and solutions.

 

“The markets in China play an increasingly important role in INVISTA’s global business, and the plan to establish the Asia Innovation Center in Shanghai is a clear example of our commitment to further supplying strong local and regional demand for high-quality nylon products as China is also expected to become the world's largest nylon consumer,” said Pete Brown, INVISTA’s executive vice president of nylon polymer.

 

“Innovation continues to be a strong area of focus for INVISTA and our customers as we work together to broaden the possibilities for application development in engineering polymers. We anticipate that the Asia Innovation Center will enable us to quickly respond to local customers’ needs and facilitate downstream application upgrades,” said Angela Dou, director of intermediates, Asia, INVISTA.

 

INVISTA will continue to engage stakeholders as plans for the Asia Innovation Center advance and anticipates the lab will be fully operational by the end of 2021.