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[December 2006]
Honeywell Specialty Materials Expands Asian Research and Development Center
Honeywell Specialty Materials has announced that it will expand its Shanghai-based Asia Technology Center to boost its research and development capability and meet increasing customer needs in Asian markets, particularly China.
The $3.2 million expansion will triple laboratory space for Specialty Materials in Asia. The new lab space is part of a larger, $13.5 million expansion of Honeywell lab and administrative space at the facility, which is located in Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai.
"Our Asia Technology Center is a strategic part of Specialty Materials’ global research and development efforts," said Nance Dicciani, President and CEO of Honeywell Specialty Materials, at a groundbreaking ceremony at the facility. "Our approach is to identify local market needs and develop safe, energy-efficient, environmentally preferable technologies and applications to support sustainable economic growth."
Specialty Materials currently has 17,000 sq ft (1,600 sq m) of research space at the Shanghai facility. The 16 Specialty Materials labs at the Honeywell facility, which opened in 2004, include six analytical labs, four chemical synthesis labs, three application labs and two electronic material development labs. Current research projects focus on fluorine chemicals, speciality chemicals, electronics materials and performance materials used for application-related research and development.
The new expansion will add 39,000 sq ft (3,600 sq m) of research space. Ten new labs will be added, including a clean room and chemical blending lab for electronic materials research; an air conditioning and heat pump lab; and a high bay area for a polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, extrusion line to develop, test and evaluate performance additives. Construction of the new buildings is expected to start this month and be completed in July 2007.
The Specialty Materials labs in Shanghai currently employ 40 researchers. When the expansion is completed, employment is expected to rise to 60. The Technology Center also collaborates with leading Chinese universities through 16 cooperative projects.
The Specialty Materials Asia Technology Center is among the seven research and development Centers of Excellence for Specialty Materials world-wide. Other research sites are located in Seelze, Germany; Des Plaines, IL, USA; Richmond, VA, USA; Buffalo, NY, USA; Sunnyvale, CA, USA; and Morristown, NJ, USA.
www.honeywell.com
ENDS