Ashland targets China growth with new technical center

Ashland Specialty Ingredients says it is reinforcing its commitment to developing innovative solutions to consumer-goods customers in industries such as personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, with the new facility.

"China is an important growth market for Ashland, and this new technical center marks another milestone in our ability to meet our customers' needs for technical expertise and innovation,"​ said Nandkumar Dhekne, vice president, Asia Pacific, Ashland Specialty Ingredients.

Continued investment​

The new technical center, which houses a laboratory facility for research and development, application technology and services, is located in Caohejing Industrial Park in Shanghai. More than 25 chemists and technical service professionals are working in the center.

"The new Shanghai technical center represents our continued investment in China and strengthens our focus on delivering tailor-made solutions to our customers throughout the region,"​ said John Panichella, president of Ashland Specialty Ingredients.

"With our expanded network of technical centers around the world, we are helping customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow."​

Global span​

With the opening of the Shanghai technical center, Specialty Ingredients now operates 22 R&D and technical centers around the world.

According to the ingredients supplier, these facilities will play a key role in helping Ashland achieve its long-term goal of deriving 25 percent of annual sales from products introduced in the past five years.

In personal care sector, Ashland offers a range of biofunctional ingredients and functional polymers to deliver the most advanced performance properties for hair, skin and oral care products.