Special chemical business prospects are expected

Although the global epidemic is still spreading, as a dedicated, sustainable, and innovative specialty chemical company, Clariant's Chinese plants are almost fully operational, with solid financial performance in the first quarter and profitability remaining resilient. Clariant China President Wang Anting said that Clariant is full of confidence in the prospects of China's economic development and believes that Clariant's China business will take off again. The company will continue to strengthen epidemic prevention and control, pay close attention to safe production, and steadily advance its strategy in China according to the established plan.

Innovative solutions

Wang Anting said that chemical industry is the cornerstone of modern life. The Chinese government clearly will continue to support the green and high-quality development of the petrochemical industry. The European Commission has also issued a draft climate and energy 2050/2030. All these will promote the development of the entire chemical industry towards sustainable specialty chemistry.

For the chemical industry, it is the direction of the industry's healthy development to focus on a more sustainable way of special chemistry and create comprehensive value in the economic, social and environmental aspects. Clariant will reasonably meet the expectations of stakeholders, strive to reduce the pollution of chemicals to the environment, at the same time enhance the competitiveness of the product market, and coordinate upstream and downstream efforts for the sustainable development of the chemical industry.

Wang Anting emphasized that Clariant attaches great importance to the innovation and cooperation of sustainable recycling ecosystems. Recently, Clariant has established a partnership with Floreon, a supplier of biopolymer packaging materials, to combine the recyclability of Floreon’s proprietary blends with Clariant’s additives to produce a large number of alternatives to petrochemical plastics for the packaging, consumer products and automotive industries. Renewable materials. Clariant firmly believes that cooperation and innovation are the keys to success, and it will bring positive and sustainable changes and promote the stability of the circular economy.

In terms of biotechnology applications, Clariant uses sunliquid technology to effectively convert straw and other agricultural wastes into biofuel cellulose ethanol, reducing 95% of carbon dioxide emissions. Every 4-5 tons of straw can produce 1 ton of cellulose ethanol, which can replace 0.7 tons of gasoline and achieve 2.2 tons of carbon dioxide emission reduction. Wang Anting said that China's goal is to bring the bioethanol content in transportation fuels to 10% in the next few years. This policy has stimulated the demand for advanced biofuels. In January of this year, Anhui Guozhen Group and Contes agreed to set up a joint venture to build a comprehensive commercial plant that uses agricultural waste to produce cellulose ethanol. The factory is located in the Anhui region and can receive the supply of required raw materials. Clariant has granted the joint venture a license to use its sunliquid cellulose ethanol technology.

Optimistic about the future of the Chinese market

Wang Anting said that Clariant agrees with a stable, open and huge Chinese market. The Chinese government's comprehensive support for resuming production and production, and its strong control of the epidemic have given foreign companies in China strong confidence and determination to take root in China.

In the early stage of the epidemic, Clariant's Daya Bay plant responded to the call for the first time and increased its horsepower to concentrate on the production of upstream specialty chemical products for civilian supplies and epidemic prevention materials. Clariant Masterbatch Shanghai Plant also organizes the production of electret masterbatch for masks to meet the needs of downstream customers. He said: "The epidemic has affected the supply of raw materials in the chemical industry to a certain extent. Because Clariant's procurement and supply chain departments have planned to keep raw material inventory in advance, and Clariant's global regions are interlinked, making domestic raw material supply trend Stable."

The outbreak also provided Clariant with an opportunity to look for digital development. Clariant uses virtual showrooms and online live broadcasts to communicate innovative and sustainable products and solutions to customers and provide them with remote technical service support. In the future, Clariant will continue to integrate digital means and carry out fast and convenient real-time interactive activities.

As a beneficiary in the Chinese market, Clariant, while actively fighting the epidemic and resuming production, has also contributed to the development of various industries in China. Wang Anting said that Clariant will continue to implement Clariant's China strategy, continue to advocate sustainable development, pursue a more sustainable road to special chemistry, and strive to become a true "China market insider."

Determine the core of the global strategy

For a long time, Clariant has been committed to developing the Chinese market. In 2016, Clariant took China as the core of its global strategy, thus kicking off the implementation of the strategy of "from edge to core". Over the past few years, Clariant has gradually expanded its footprint in China and has continuously started projects, including the establishment of new factories, the establishment of joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and the construction of the Clariant Integrated Park in Shanghai. The integrated park will be put into operation in 2020, covering Clariant's regional operations headquarters and regional R&D centers.

Wang Anting said: "The reason why Clariant pays so much attention to the Chinese market is that in the foreseeable future, China will become the world's largest chemical market. The importance of the Chinese chemical industry to global economic development is self-evident. The Chinese chemical industry is currently in Making an effort to change towards'higher quality and more sustainable' will provide Clariant with a better opportunity to develop in China."