Press Releases
- Linde to build two 55,000 Nm3/hr air separation units forpolyurethane manufacturer Yantai Wanhua
- Investment value: around EUR 130 million
- Competitive position in China reinforced
Yantai, SHANDONG, CHINA, 1 Aug 2011 – Linde Greater China, a member of The Linde Group, will build and operate two large air separation units (ASUs) for the supply of gaseous oxygen and nitrogen for MDI technology leader, Yantai Wanhua, in Shandong province, China.
Linde will invest around EUR 130 million in this project.
The on-site project will involve the construction of two ASUs, each with a capacity of 55,000 normal cubic meters (Nm3/hr) of oxygen, for gases supply to Wanhua’s new integrated MDI production hub, which includes coal gasification plants, requiring 100,000 oxygen Nm3/hour and 55,000 Nm3/hr of nitrogen.
Linde’s new gases facilities, which will be constructed by Linde’s Engineering Division, are expected to come on stream between end 2013 and at the start of 2014.
Linde’s investment will also include the construction of a 20-kilometer long pipeline in Yantai Economic and Technology Park. In addition, Linde will provide up to 800 tonnes per day (tpd) of liquified products for the open market in the Shandong region.
"We are very excited to be working with Wanhua on yet another milestone project. This project is strategic for Linde’s expansion of gases and liquid coverage in Shandong, leveraging the existing gases infrastructure in the neighbouring Shandong city of Qilu. It also provides proof of concept for our focused growth strategy in the region,” said Steven Fang, Head of The Linde Group’s Greater China regional business unit.
Yantai Wanhua is investing in an RMB 26 billion MDI/TDI project to develop a fully integrated site for the production of MDI upstream and downstream products. By 2015, Wanhua’s new project in Yantai will produce up to 600,000 tonnes per year of MDI products, and raise Wanhua’s total production capacity in China to become one of the top three global producers of polyurethane products.
China is in the process of becoming one of the principal markets for MDI. The Shandong province is the third largest province in China in terms of gross domestic product. Shandong is a key hub for chemicals, shipping and electronics industries in China.
About Yantai Wanhua
Yantai Wanhua is publicly-listed in China, and is the only local company in China that owns the technology and expertise for MDI.
In Ningbo, Wanhua owns a world scale 600,000tpa methylene diphenylene diisocyanate (MDI) plant, where Linde’s subsidiary, Linde Gas Ningbo, today supplies Wanhua’s site around 60,000 Nm3/hour of oxygen.
MDI is an intermediate product in the manufacture of polyurethane, which is used in large quantities for example in the construction and automobile industries, and also for the manufacturing of paint and footwear.
About The Linde Group
The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 48,700 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2010 financial year, it achieved sales of EUR 12.868 bn. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.
In the Greater China region, Linde has close to 4,000 employees working in around 50 subsidiaries and joint-ventures, and 150 operational plants in major industrial hubs across the region. Linde Greater China is headquartered in Shanghai.
For more information, visit Linde at www.linde.com.cn