Symrise has opened a new production site for flavorings and fragrances in Nantong, China.
The executive board, senior staff, plant workers and guests opened the facility via video conference, with chief executive officer Heinz-Jürgen Bertram and chief financial officer Olaf Klinger conveying their greetings via live video from Holzminden.
Related: Symrise Q1 2020 Sales Up 8% Despite COVID-19
The new site represents the company’s largest individual investment of €50 million in the construction of the new production site.
The decision to build at this location, in the industrial park on the green field, was made back in 2016 due to its versatile potential. Modern infrastructure, an attractive business environment and a number of sustainability aspects were the deciding factors in selecting the site near Shanghai.
The subsidiary Tesium, specialist in technology, safety and the environment, assisted the local Symrise experts in planning and implementation.
The expansion of the production of fragrances and flavorings in the rapidly expanding Chinese market correlates with the history of Symrise in the country. In the past ten years, the company has grown around 8% per year on average. With a 6% share of total sales, China follows the United States and Germany as the third-strongest revenue-generating market for Symrise.
“The celebratory and partially virtual opening of our plant in Nantong demonstrates our trust in the Chinese market, and we are consciously committing ourselves to the world’s strongest growth region. Of course, we are also keeping a close eye on how the COVID-19 situation is progressing here,” said Bertram on the strategic approach.
“From these observations, we enacted measures and were successful in keeping our entire business running and opening our plant as planned. Ultimately, we want to reliably serve our customers in China and grow with them. A big thank you therefore goes to the flexibility and extreme dedication of our employees.”
