Madrid - Evonik, a German polyurethanes additive company, has started construction at plant in Essen, senior vice-president comfort and insulation Tammo Boiowitz told UTI.
Speaking at the sidelines of the EuroPUR annual meeting on 6 May, he explained that the firm, which floated on the Frankfurt and Luxembourg exchanges in April, is investing "double digit millions of Euro" in the expansions there.
The expansions are to produce polyethers and silicone surfactants, Boinowitz declined to give any capacity details. Technology is owned by Evonik, which is also the contractor on the project, Boinowitz added.
Evonik has also been active in Singapore with the opening of a new technical service centre there in mid-May. This is the company's fifth and second in Asia. It is designed to serve non-China customers.
Singapore was chosen for its good location and supply of well-educated technicians. Demand for Evonik's products is strong in the far-east and this new centre is designed to help Evonik meet local customers' needs efficiently Boinowitz said.
He added that the company's floatation came at the third attempt. Evonik is owned by a mixture of Sovereign wealth funds, RAG an energy company and CVC, the venture capitalists. A small proportion of the company is floated, RAG holds a significant proportion and it is likely that CVC will sell its holding to enable it to exit the firm.
At the start of 2013, the previous sole owners of Evonik Industries AG - RAG-Stiftung and funds advised by CVC Capital Partners-sold some of their shares to institutional investors in Germany and abroad through private placements in preparation for Evonik's stock exchange listing. Shares in Evonik were admitted to trading on the regulated market of the stock exchanges in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and Luxembourg on April 24, 2013. Trading started on April 25, 2013. Around 14.5% of the capital stock was placed before the commencement of trading.
