Dow's DuPont Specialty Products business unit, while advancing Chinese production and research efforts, spent $40 million to upgrade composite production bases to meet the pace of technological change, especially in the automotive industry.
Randy L. Stone, president of DuPont's Transportation and Advanced Materials Division, said that even when the Shenzhen Engineering Plastics Factory invested in the plant is put into production in mid-2019, it will not be able to meet China's demand for materials.
In an interview at the Chinaplas Shanghai in late April, he said: 'We need to increase the production capacity of polymers in Asia. Therefore, we are currently evaluating options for expanding capacity in China.'
Tina Wu, executive president of DuPont Transportation & Advanced Materials Division Asia Pacific, said that as part of the merger of the two companies, the Dow Shanghai Laboratory and the DuPont Shanghai Laboratory will be merged by the end of the year, which will enable DuPont to China's R & D results have been improved.
Wu Tong expects that the joint research work will bring about synergy. She said: 'The Dow is very good at using adhesives to connect plastic rubber and metal for lightweighting.'
The company said that these collaborative research results are reflected in London taxis.
The iconic taxis reduce the weight of adhesives, primers and glass binders by 30% by selecting DuPont products. The products include paint polyurethane adhesives for bonding and sealing automotive glass and other DuPont products.
The adhesive is also being used by Hyundai Motors.
Edward Yue, global market manager for TPA Affairs, said that the transformation of the automotive industry from metal to body parts for composites and high-strength alloys will drive demand for high-quality adhesives.
He said: 'This is a great opportunity for the adhesive business.'
Shi Rui said: 'Electric vehicles are also a key research area, accounting for a substantial proportion of key OEM manufacturers' research and development expenses.'
For example, DuPont and Taizhou Changli Plastics Co., Ltd., a key supplier of China's automotive pipeline system, jointly developed a cooling tube for electric vehicle battery packs based on DuPont polyamide.
For electric vehicles, DuPont also demonstrated two halogen-free flame-retardant polyamides for covering lithium-ion batteries.
Wu Tong said: 'High-temperature nylon is our fastest growing product line.'