MUTTENZ, Switzerland/SINGAPORE - Swiss-based specialty chemicals company Clariant strengthened its presence in Asia with the opening of its new regional headquarters for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and its new Global Textile Chemicals headquarters, both located in Singapore. The company also celebrated the inauguration of its newly built ethoxylation plant and application laboratory in Guangdong, China.

“Expanding Clariant’s business in the fast-growing Asian region is an important pillar in our profitable growth strategy and a strong commitment to serving our customers and markets,” said CEO Hariolf Kottmann.

Clariant’s new regional hub is the first headquarters to be shared by Clariant and Süd-Chemie. The current 200 employees based at the Singapore location will support customers in the Southeast Asia and Pacific regions. In the last five years, Clariant’s sales in the Asia-Pacific region have grown from 17 percent to around 22 percent. At the same time, investment reached over CHF 200 million in China alone. Clariant’s acquisition of Süd-Chemie will add significantly to this growth. Süd-Chemie achieved 31.5 percent of its sales in Asia and the Middle East in 2010, standing at EUR 385 million. A third of its employees are located in this region.

The Southeast Asia and Pacific headquarters will also serve as the headquarters for Clariant’s Textile Chemicals Business Unit. With its relocation from Switzerland now complete, the new headquarters will accommodate the entire senior Textile Chemicals BU management team.

Clariant’s completion of its global ethoxylation footprint marks another significant investment in the country by its Industrial and Consumer Specialties (ICS) business unit. The new 80,000-square-meter Dayabay plant situated in the southeast of Guangdong Province is the business unit’s largest plant in Asia Pacific. The plant has an initial capacity close to 50,000 tons per annum for the manufacture of surfactants. Additionally, it is equipped with an autoclave laboratory to allow fast product development and customization of products to local demands.