Oxea’s China specialty esters facility starts production

The facility will supply a number of consumer industries, including the cosmetics and personal care sector, where the material is used for a wide range of applications in both skin and hair care products.

The investment will raise Oxea’s annual production level of specialty esters by 40% and will particularly help it to meet fast-growing demand throughout the Asia Pacific region, complementing three existing facilities in Europe.

Serving customers in the China and Asia Pacific region​

"With the start-up of the new plant we will be able to serve our customers in China and the Asia-Pacific region better and will at the same time strengthen Oxea’s leading global market position further,”​ said Miguel Mantas, Oxea’s executive board member and globally responsible for Oxea’s commercial activities.

“In view of rising customer demand, it is important to note that here in Nanjing we will have sufficient space and infrastructure to implement further expansions, also for other product lines.”​

Esters are a chemical compound that is widespread in nature, and are generally derived from trimester fats, which are derived from glycerol and fatty acids.

Growing applications for esters​

Niche and new applications for specialty esters are growing all the time, and those applications include thickening, solvency, and many others are gradually entering the mainstream owing to higher levels of innovation.

In 2012, the global market for fatty esters was forecast to reach US$2.2 billion by 2018, driven primarily by the growing demand from personal care and cosmetics sectors, according to a new report from Global Industry Analysts.

Although food still constitutes the largest use of the market, personal care and cosmetics application is forecast to be the fastest growing end-use application registering a CAGR of 3.6% over the analysis period.

Similarly, growth-wise, Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing regional market registering a CAGR of about 3.6 percent over the analysis period.