In January, Westlake Global Compounds celebrated the groundbreaking of a new site in Taicang, Jiangsu, China. The new site will feature a number of equipment and technology upgrades, including an improved automation system. Taicang is located on the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, and is bordered by Shanghai to the south, and is due east from Suzhou.

“The purpose of this project is to improve safety compliance, increase capacity, and support new business in China," said Dany Wang, project manager at the nearby Westlake Global Compounds site located in Changshu, Jiangsu. Operations at the Changshu site will move to the Taicang facility once it is completed.

The investment into this new facility will allow Westlake to continue to serve the Chinese and Asian markets with products that are essential for daily life. The site will manufacture slush vinyl powder used for high end automotive dashboards and pellet vinyl compounds used for automotive exteriors, building construction, medical applications and other consumer goods. The Taicang site's proximity to the Westlake Huasu facility, which the company has operated since 1992, will allow for synergistic opportunities and cost advantages.

The facility's groundbreaking was attended by Westlake representatives including Yaoming Li, president of Westlake Huasu; Vanessa Wang, managing director, Westlake Epoxy Asia and associate general counsel; and Xiaoping Wu, vice president - Manufacturing, Westlake Huasu.  Lu Zheng, deputy director of Taicang Port Management Committee and Huiguo Chen, general manager of SIEG also attended the event.