Albemarle's Chemetall acquires Shanghai joint venture

Chemetall, a business unit of the US-based Albemarle Corporation, has completed the acquisition of all shares of its Shanghai Chemetall joint venture. This transaction is in line with Chemetall's strategic market approach to further enhance its global footprint as the surface treatment supplier of choice. "We are committed to expanding our presence in China with one voice to the customer through our wholly owned organisation. As a specialist in surface treatment, we aim to offer absolutely the best in service along with the most innovative technologies and effectively address shifting market and customer needs,” said Joris Merck, president, Chemetall.
 
China is a key growth market for Chemetall. "With our very strong focus on the automotive market and our long-term relationship with leading automotive manufacturers, we are ideally positioned to further develop the business, provide advanced innovative technologies to the market and create value for our customers in this region," said Jin Hui, managing director, Shanghai Chemetall.
 
Today, China is the largest automotive market in the world. With its broad portfolio of surface treatment technologies, Chemetall expects to actively participate in the dynamic growth of automotive related businesses, such as automotive components, coil and cold forming industries.
 
Established as a joint venture with two Chinese partners in 1995, Shanghai Chemetall today houses the recently modernized, highly equipped and expanded regional R&D and Technical Center, administrative offices and over 220 dedicated employees to support customers in the region.