Albemarle Corp. (ALB), a manufacturer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals, and Senze Meilu Company, of Shanxi, China, have signed definitive agreements to establish a joint venture company in Lvliang, Shanxi.
Upon final approval from the relevant government authorities in China, the venture, Albemarle Senze Chemicals (Shanxi) Company, Ltd., will build and operate a new 50,000 MT facility to manufacture MARTINAL fine precipitated alumina trihydrate flame retardants, based on Albemarle's proprietary technology principally used in wire and cable applications.
Production at the new facility is expected to begin in the middle of 2015. Albemarle, as majority stakeholder, will market MARTINAL on behalf of the joint venture in the high-growth Asia-Pacific and Indian markets.
Matt Juneau, Albemarle's vice president, Polymer Solutions, said, "We have worked for some time to identify the right partner to develop a plant to produce MARTINAL in China... The combination of Albemarle's technology with Senze's world scale bauxite and alumina production capabilities will make this joint venture a platform for success for both companies."
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