Arkema S.A. (La Défense, Paris, France) announced the opening of the expansion of its Shanghai R&D center, which will take the center to the next level and strengthen its strategic role as an innovation platform serving all the Group’s businesses. The center will enable synergies among teams and co-development with customers in China and across Asia, to accelerate innovation in cutting-edge applications and the successful deployment of advanced and sustainable material solutions. This expansion is fully aligned with the Group’s investment strategy in its global R&D laboratory network.
During his visit to China, Thierry Le Hénaff, chairman and CEO of Arkema, inaugurated the expanded center alongside the Consul General of France in Shanghai, local government representatives, customers, partners and management representatives.
Arkema’s R&D center in Shanghai was originally established in 2011 as the Asia Technology Center of Bostik S.A. (Colombes, France), focused on adhesive solutions. Over the past 15 years, the center has developed strong expertise in materials synthesis, formulation development and application-relevant validation, bringing innovations to markets such as high-speed rail, food packaging and sustainable consumer goods.
This expansion illustrates the One Arkema strategy by leveraging the Group’s broad materials expertise to strengthen its role as a preferred innovation partner. It increases laboratory space by around 20% and adds new collaborative areas, including an interactive showroom, to showcase Arkema’s Specialty Materials solutions and foster closer engagement with customers and partners.
This expansion will also reinforce the interactions with the local innovation ecosystem, through partnerships with organizations such as Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Development Co., Ltd. (Shanghai) and Green Support Industry (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Shanghai), which are closely connected to start-ups and emerging technology companies.