Excel and Mitsui to make rubber compounds in China

6 December 2006 – Excel Polymers and Mitsui and Co have agreed to form a joint venture for the production of rubber compounds in southern China.

The JV will be owned 61% by Excel and 39% by Mitsui. It will operate under the Excel name as EXLP Global (Foshan) Co and will be located in the Shunde Science and Technology Industrial Park in Guangdong province, about 40 km south of Guangzhou and 100 km northwest of Hong Kong.

The greenfield facility is expected to begin production by the beginning of 2008. It will utilise proprietary Spectrum/Prism production and process control technologies developed by Excel Polymers.

There will be two lines operating initially, with annual capacity for more than 50 million pounds (25,000 tonnes) of a wide variety of natural and synthetic rubber compounds.

The compounds will be sold in China and the Asian region for applications in automotive, printing, industrial and consumer markets.

Excel, the world’s leading manufacturer of compounded elastomer materials, also has a wholly-owned operation in Shanghai, which was recently tripled in size.