Axalta Coating Systems announced that a new manufacturing plant for high-performance automobile, commercial vehicle and industrial coatings will be constructed in Nanjing, China.
Axalta, based in Philadelphia was sold by DuPont Co. to an investment company. It is now a publicly traded company with administrative operations across the Delaware line in Glen Mills, PA.
What is now Axalta was a sponsor for many years of now-retired NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon.
The facility will be built on land at Nanjing’s National Chemical Industrial Park. The plant is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020 with a product distribution center and initial manufacturing capability expected to come online by early 2019. The project will build on Axalta’s total investments in China to date of close to $100 million since 2013. The project is subject to final approvals by the company and by
The project will build on Axalta’s total investments in China to date of close to $100 million since 2013. The project is subject to final approvals by the company and by government and local authorities.
The facility will manufacture a broad range of Axalta products. Additionally, the facility will serve as a logistics center and distribution point. The Nanjing plant will eventually be Axalta’s third largest global operations center.
“China is a strategic market for us and we continue to invest in our manufacturing capacity and network there to enable us to more effectively serve our customers and to raise our service standards to support their growth,” said Charlie Shaver, Axalta CEO.
Preparation work is in full swing as Axalta has begun to work closely with the local authorities to start the design phase and development of engineering specifications for the new facility.
Axalta, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary globally, entered the China market 32 years ago. Axalta’s new Asia Pacific Technology Center (APTC) in Shanghai, will open in early 2017. The APTC will undertake fundamental research to develop new coating applications and support customer needs.
