SHANGHAI, China – OMNOVA Solutions announced the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art specialty chemical plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in Caojing, China. The plant, which is part of a recent acquisition of ELIOKEM by OMNOVA Solutions, manufactures Pliocord® vinyl pyridine latex used in tires, hoses and other reinforced rubber applications for the fast-growing Asia-Pacific markets. In addition, production of OMNOVA’s complementary GenTac® vinyl pyridine latex is being evaluated for the site, as well as other specialty latices based on innovative styrene butadiene and acrylic emulsion polymerization technologies.

Company management, customers, suppliers, SCIP officials and local authorities gathered earlier this month to dedicate the facility. Speaking at the celebration event, Jim Hohman, President of OMNOVA Solutions’ Performance Chemicals business unit, said, “The Caojing plant will play a critical role in OMNOVA’s globalization efforts. It strongly supports our vision to supply our customers globally utilizing regional production assets to provide better service, shorter lead times and reduced delivery costs.”

The Caojing plant is located in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, one of the largest integrated petrochemical production sites in Asia. In addition, OMNOVA operates another chemical plant in Ningbo, China, that produces Wingstay® antioxidants.