Stahl open US$18million plant at Suzhou

The grand opening ceremony for the new $18 million manufacturing facility for Stahl Coatings and Fine Chemicals (Suzhou) Co Ltd took place on Friday 8 September, immediately following the All China Leather Fair, in the presence of an audience of over 500 invited guests from China and South East Asia. Stahl plan to produce some 17,000 tonnes per year from the new plant, initially including acrylics, pigments and lacquer emulsions for the leather and shoe industries and surface coatings for the flexible substrate industry. In his welcoming speech, Frank Policky stated: 'I am proud and pleased to be present at the start of another Stahl venture, our ninth manufacturing facility in the world. This factory here in Suzhou is a further key step in Stahl's creation of centres of excellence to serve the leather and coatings industry worldwide. The building of the facility in Suzhou affirms our confidence in the dynamic growth of the Chinese market and our commitment to support our customers, without whose support this investment would not have been possible, and we look forward to their continuing commitment.' A speech from Rodney Hammond, executive vice president of Stahl Asia Pacific echoed the sentiments of Frank Policy and others. He said, 'Our investment in China is only possible due to the continued support of our customers and the unwavering commitment of our key agents. 'Our promise to our customers and agents is that Stahl Coatings and Fine Chemicals will be relentless in becoming our customers' first choice. SCFC will help them create more value than our competitors. SCFC employees will deliver products of outstanding quality and competitive costs and are committed to continuous improvement by working together as a team in safe and environmentally-friendly ways that are faster and smarter.'