Covestro opens TPU application development centre in southern China

Guangzhou, China – Covestro has opened a new thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) application development centre in Guangzhou, expanding its regional TPU network in China and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

The new facility complements Covestro’s TPU production site in Zhuhai, which started operations earlier this year, and the company’s existing research and development centre in Changhua.

According to Covestro, the three locations now form “an integrated network” covering R&D, application development and large-scale manufacturing.

The company said the Guangzhou centre is strategically located near key manufacturing clusters serving sectors including consumer electronics, automotive, footwear, paint protection film and speciality extrusion applications.

“This new application development centre represents a strategic cornerstone in our global TPU strategy to grow in high-value and emerging segments in Asia-Pacific,” said Andrea Maier-Richter, global head of TPU at Covestro.

The site, she said, will “explore, pilot and upscale” new application fields for TPU in robotics, healthcare and mobility solutions in collaboration with customers.

The site includes extrusion and injection moulding simulation lines designed to support faster material development and shorten customer trial cycles.

“Asia is home to some of the world’s most dynamic and fast-moving industries, and our customers here expect partners who can keep pace with them,” said Holly Lei, president of Covestro China.

Covestro said engineering plastics and speciality films teams are also co-located at the Guangzhou site to provide compounding, colour matching and film development capabilities.