By Nina Ying Sun
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Published: August 6, 2014 11:25 am ET
Updated: August 6, 2014 11:28 am ET
Image By: Chem-Trend LP
Chem-Trend LP's new research and development center in Shanghai.
Chem-Trend LP launched a new research and development center in China on July 14, aiming to steadily increase the share of new products in its total sales.
The facility in Qingpu district of Shanghai will be shared by Chem-Trend and Klüber Lubrication — both are business units of Munich, Germany-based chemicals giant Freudenberg Chemical Specialities KG.
For Chem-Trend, a Howell, Mich.-based mold-release agent manufacturer, the R&D center consists of test areas for application testing and engineering as well as special laboratories for release agents and process aids.
The new facility is part of a campus that Freudenberg plans to expand over the next three years with more than 150 million yuan ($24.2 million) of investment.
As a next step, Freudenberg plans to expand the manufacturing facilities for release agents, process aids and specialty lubricants. An extended warehouse and bulk storage capacities are also planned, the company said in a release.
By the end of the expansion, the Qingpu site will cover 66,000 square meters. It will become Chem-Trend’s largest sales and manufacturing site in Asia.
“Our overall investment concept in China is in line with market and customer requirements. This also applies to our innovation strategy. We react to the growing demands of our customers for the development of innovations that meet the specific needs of the Chinese market”, said Hanno Wentzler, CEO of Freudenberg Chemical Specialities, during the opening ceremony. | 
