Ascend to build HMD plant in Jiangsu, China

Ascend Performance Materials has signed an investment agreement to construct a new hexamethylene diamine and specialty chemicals plant in Lianyungang, China in the Xuwei New Area Park. The new plant will be Ascend’s first chemical production facility and the largest investment the company has made outside of the United States.

The plant will produce HMD and specialty chemicals to supply Ascend’s global polyamide production and serve its regional customers.

“Our growth is driven by increasing market demand and growing collaboration with our customers globally,” said Phil McDivitt, Ascend’s president and CEO. “The materials we produce are helping drive technological transformations across markets, from e-mobility to automation. Our new HMD plant positions us to continue supporting these transformations well into the future.”

Ascend, a fully integrated producer of durable engineered materials, serves a variety of sectors including automotive, paints and coatings, electrical and electronics, consumer goods, and cable ties and fasteners.

“China and Asia remain high-growth markets for us,” said Dr. Kevin Wu, Ascend’s senior vice president and managing director for Asia. “This new plant is a symbol of our growth in the region and the partnerships we have developed. We thank the Xuwei New Area Park administrators and the officials in Lianyungang for their partnership in this project.”

Ascend signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2020 during CIIE in Shanghai with Xuwei New Area Park, witnessed by the leaders of Jiangsu Province and Lianyungang. Construction for the new plant will begin later this year with a plant startup targeted for the second half of 2023.

The announcement of the new site construction follows a series of acquisitions and capacity expansions to enable regional growth and continued global supply security. In 2018, Ascend made its first acquisition in Tilburg, Netherlands, followed by acquisitions in Mozzate, Italy; Suzhou, China; and Fosses, France. Ascend will also complete an acquisition in San Jose Iturbide, Mexico and the construction of Ascend Asia Innovation Centre later this year.