Peter Huo, vice president sales and marketing at China’s MDI major, Wanhua, confirmed the timeframe and size of expansion at the firm’s facility in Zhuhai, Guangdong, near Macau.
The plant will likely be completed in Q2 or Q3 2015, he said, in an exclusive interview today.
Huo confirmed volumes of 50kt/year MDI prepolymer, 100 kt/year water-born polyurethane resins and 20kt/year thermoplastic polyurethanes. He also confirmed that the second phase scheduled for 2017-2018 could see those capacities double and the possible construction of a polyether polyol plant.
This will give his company three plants in the main production regions of China, Yantai, Ningbo and Zhuai, in Guangzhou in the south of China.
He also confirmed that there are plans to build propylene dehydrogenation facilities in Yantai, to provide feedstock for propylene oxide. This project is scheduled to start towards the end of 2014, he said. The feedstock is planned to be imported LPG.
Growth in the Chinese market for refrigerators has been healthy in the past five years, he said, adding that it had slowed slightly in 2012-13. Huo said: “post crisis, domestic demand picked up capacity” as overseas demand for refrigerators fell off, now “as quality of life has improved the market is becoming more saturated.” This slow down translates to around 8% growth in demand in China to about 1.2 Mt in the first three quarters of 2013, according to figures from the International Isocayanates Institiute, said Huo.