The chemicals supplier officially opened its Shanghai Technical Center in October
January 2008
By Annie Zhu, Features Editor
Hercules Paper Technologies and Ventures group (Hercules PTV) opened its Shanghai Technical Center (STC) in October 2007. Describing the occasion as "an important milestone", president, Hercules PTV, Paul Raymond says the new center, which will be the paper group's primary headquarters in Asia, "Underscores our ongoing commitment to provide localized customer services in key papermaking regions of the world."
The STC has been named in honor of John Montgomery, president of Hercules Asia Pacific, to award his more than 35 years of experience in the specialty chemicals industry. The 2,665-m2 center houses three main functional groups - the customer analytical services lab (CAS), the paper applications lab (PAL), and the fast-track R&D lab (FTL). It also includes a 150 m2 training center designed for 60 students, and 1,280 m2 of office space, which can accommodate some 80 people.
On a mission
"The mission of the STC is to provide timely and cost-effective chemical analysis, paper application testing, product manufacturing troubleshooting and product improvement services to the PTV business in Asia Pacific countries," explains STC technical manager, Xu Zu Feng.
More than $1 million has been spent kitting out the labs, which are staffed by eight full-time scientists and technicians.
After several months of preparation and test runs, the STC will begin processing analytical work requests, paper lab work requests, and fast-track R&D work requests as well as fulfilling product or sample requests from business managers, applications specialists, customer site managers, and sales representatives in Asia Pacific countries.
"The lab is designed to manage 20 requests of sample analysis per day," says Xu. "Currently, [Hercules's] European research center is dealing with one sample per day requested from the Asian market."
This STC is located on the site of Hercules original investment in China – a paper technology joint venture with Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical (China) (SCAC).
In 2006, Hercules acquired SCAC's 40% stake in that consolidated jv. "That decision and investment has allowed us to expand our manufacturing capabilities as well as build this technical center," notes Raymond.
The new Chinese facility becomes Hercules PTV's third regional technical center, joining sites in Wilmington, Delaware, USA and in Helsingborg, Sweden.
"Today, our research and development efforts are directed toward the discovery and development of new products and processes, the improvement and refinement of existing products and processes, the development of new applications for existing products, and of course, cost improvement initiatives," says Raymond.
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