AkzoNobel has underscored its ambition to double revenue in China within the next five years by opening its sixth powder coatings facility in the country. The plant is located in the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, a major industrial and manufacturing hub in central China.

The new factory will manufacture AkzoNobel Powder Coatings’ flagship Interpon range of products and joins the business’ five existing sites in Shenzhen, Langfang, Ningbo, Suzhou and Chengdu.

“China is fundamental to our new sustainable growth strategy and this sixth plant is the latest in a series of new facilities AkzoNobel has inaugurated in the region,” said Leif Darner, the board member responsible for the company’s performance coatings activities. “Our ambitions for China are clear and we are committed to achieving them.”

The Wuhan facility’s current production capacity is 4,000 tons per year and can be further expanded. The additional capacity boosts AkzoNobel’s ability to meet growing demand in what is one of the largest powder coatings markets in the world.

“China has the fastest growth rate in the world in terms of powder coatings demand,” said Rob Molenaar, managing director of AkzoNobel Powder Coatings. “This demand is being driven by a number of factors, especially the rapid pace of urbanization and the associated growth of the housing, construction and automotive sectors. By taking advantage of these trends, our own activities have achieved strong growth in recent years.

“We expect these trends to continue. So by opening our sixth plant, not only are we boosting our ability to meet market needs, but we are also establishing a strong geographic spread, with Wuhan being ideally placed to cater for customers in the central China area.”

Powder coatings are solvent free and Interpon is widely used in the appliance, architectural, automotive, furniture, general industry and IT sectors.

AkzoNobel currently employs around 6,500 people in China, with the country hosting 11 percent of the company’s research, development and innovation resources. Revenue for 2009 totaled $1.5 billion. The company’s focus on China will be further strengthened next month when AkzoNobel officially inaugurates its new €275 million multi-site in Ningbo.