Covestro in China

Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, cosmetics and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.

The company is committed to becoming fully circular and is striving to become climate neutral by 2035 (scope 1 and 2). Covestro generated sales of EUR 15.9 billion in fiscal 2021. At the end of 2021, the company had 50 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,900 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).

Covestro’s sales in China totaled EUR 3.54 billion in 2021, accounting for 22 percent of group sales and making it the company’s single largest market. Covestro’s cumulative investment in China exceeded EUR 3.8 billion as of the end of 2020. Covestro has been in China for a long history, providing high performance materials and innovative solutions to meet customers’ needs with a full range of business activities including R&D, manufacturing and sales. As of the end of 2021, Covestro has 11 production sites, 2 innovation hubs, 9 offices and more than 3,400 employees in Greater China. Covestro has been awarded Top Employer China since 2019 for four consecutive years by the Top Employers Institute for its exceptional employee offerings in the country.

Covestro has grown from strength to strength through the years since its regional headquarters was established in Pudong, Shanghai in 2011. This was exemplified in 2020 when Covestro upgraded its Shanghai headquarters to become Covestro (Shanghai) Investment Co., Ltd., which accommodates more functions and greater business scope, including management, innovation, operations and investment. The regional headquarters now includes the global headquarters of Business Entity Engineering Plastics, the Asia Pacific headquarters of Business Entity Coatings and Adhesives and Business Entity Elastomers, Global Innovation Management and the Asia Pacific Innovation Center, among others. In 2020, Covestro (Shanghai) Investment Co., Ltd. was recognized by the city authority as the first global business unit headquarters of a multinational company in Shanghai.

In production, Covestro has since 2001 invested EUR 3.6 billion into building the Shanghai integrated site, the company’s largest site worldwide. Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai (CISS) is now home to 11 plants with the latest technology, covering all major products that Covestro offers and serving industries including construction, automotive and electronics. In 2021, the Shanghai site received the ISCC PLUS mass balance certification, meaning it can supply customers with large product volumes from renewably attributed raw materials. In 2018, CISS was granted the National Green Factory certificate by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the first of its kind in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park.

Covestro embraces a holistic approach towards innovation. Established in 2001, the Polymer Research and Development Center (PRDC) in Shanghai is Covestro’s Asia Pacific innovation hub that provides world-class support in research and development to customers around the world. The center also explores new business models and digitalization, and fosters the incubation of start-ups under the “Open Innovation Hub” concept. Covestro believes in accelerating innovation by opening up and collaborating with industry players, academics and stakeholders in the value chains. Through collaboration, co-ideation, co-development, we are pushing boundaries beyond what is possible today.

Covestro is building an elite industry-academia-research network in China and Asia Pacific. Together with leading local experts, universities and research institutions, we will be focusing on developing technologies and solutions to address key social issues such as carbon neutrality, sustainability, healthy living, and intelligence. At the same time, the network will practice open innovation by getting upstream and downstream partners involved, and promote the industrialization of scientific research results and the cultivation of talents.

Find more information at www.covestro.com, www.covestro.cn and on WeChat: