AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - AkzoNobel has officially opened its EUR 275 million Ningbo multi-site in China, providing further momentum for the company as it enters a new phase of growth.

Occupying a 50-hectare plot, the company’s Functional Chemicals business is already producing chelates in Ningbo. The same business also plans to start up new ethylene amines and ethylene oxide factories at the site before the end of the year, with an organic peroxides facility due to come on stream in 2011. The products produced in Ningbo will serve a number of markets including the building and construction, cleaning and detergents, food preservation, oil, personal care and pulp industries.