Covestro in China

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

The company, based in Leverkusen, Germany, is committed to becoming fully circular and helping to make the circular economy a global guiding principle. In addition, Covestro aims to achieve climate neutrality at operational level by 2035, while the whole group is set to be climate neutral by 2050. Covestro generated sales of EUR 14.4 billion in fiscal 2023. At the end of 2023, the company had 48 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).

China is among the company’s largest markets and it has been present there for decades. With a full range of business activities including R&D, manufacturing and sales, Covestro aims at supporting the countries green transition particularly in dynamic markets such as electric vehicles, wind energy and photovoltaics, consumer electronics and construction.

In 2023, turnover in China totaled EUR 3.1 billion, while the cumulative investment exceeded EUR 4 billion. In Greater China, Covestro operates 10 production sites, hosts an Asia Pacific innovation hub, and employs around 3,300 people. The company has been awarded Top Employer China for six consecutive years by the Top Employers Institute for its exceptional employee offerings in the country.

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 is committed to developing future-oriented technologies and more sustainable materials and solutions for China and even the world through local research & development and innovation. Through collaboration with customers, suppliers, start-ups and academia, the center also explores new business models and digital R&D under the “Open Innovation Hub” concept. At the same time, Covestro’s industry-academia-research network in China and Asia Pacific is practicing open innovation by getting upstream and downstream partners involved, and promoting the industrialization of scientific research results and the cultivation of talents.

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 it became Covestro (Shanghai) Investment Co., Ltd., which accommodates more functions and greater business scope, including management, innovation, operations and investment. It now includes the global headquarters of the Business Entity Engineering Plastics, the Asia Pacific headquarters of the Business Entity Coatings and Adhesives and the Business Entity Elastomers and the Asia Pacific innovation hub, 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 the metropolis.

In production, Covestro has since 2001 invested EUR 3.8 billion into building the Shanghai integrated site (CISS), the company’s largest worldwide. It is home to 12 plants equipped with the latest technology, covering all major products that Covestro offers. It also houses Covestro’s first Process Technology Hub outside Europe, which provides tailored process technology solutions under a “local for local” and “local to global” concept. In 2021, the site received the ISCC PLUS mass balance certification, meaning it can supply customers with materials derived from recycled and bio-attributed products. 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.

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