With confidence in the future of Shanghai, German specialty chemicals company Evonik plans to continue its investment in China and looks to expand its business in the city, said a top executive of the company.

Christian Kullmann, CEO of Evonik [Photo provided to English.shanghai.gov.cn]

"Shanghai is a global hotspot, not only for industry but for science, culture, and art," said Christian Kullmann, CEO of Evonik, during an exclusive interview.

According to Kullmann, this mixture of climate with creativity is the foundation for innovation and economic growth.

"It is worthwhile to say and therefore underpin that the Shanghai government (mayor) is supporting the ideas of investing and… that is why we have our innovation labs and production facilities here," Kullmann said.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng met with Kullmann on March 13 and briefed him on the city’s resolve to continuously create a first-class business environment for all businesses, according to the official WeChat account of the municipal government.

Kullmann said Evonik's business in China started in Shanghai 90 years ago and the company has been impressed by the city's business environment as well as the municipal government's services and high efficiency.

Kullmann further expressed the company's willingness to take root in Shanghai and join hands with local enterprises to contribute more to the green transformation and development of China and Shanghai.

Overall, Evonik regards China as one of the main driving forces of global economic growth, and the company endeavors to grow its business in the region.

Kullmann added that he was aware that Shanghai has launched a portal providing services to internationals who will visit or are already residing in the city, particularly businesspeople.

"I'm informed about this as a good guiding system platform," he said.

Evonik's history in China can be traced back to the 1930s when a representative office of the company was opened in Shanghai. The company currently operates 16 production sites and offices in China.

In 2004, Evonik started the construction of a multiuser site in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). To date, more than 900 million euros ($1.14 billion) of investment have been made in the 330,000-square-meter site. The facility consists of the production plants of methyl methacrylate, isophorone and isophorone diamine, specialty organics, silicone surfactants, and other advanced products for the company.

The Shanghai Innovation Park is one of Evonik's six R&D core sites globally. Established in 2004 and expanded in 2007, 2013, and 2018, the site contains 10,000 square meters of lab area. Over the years, a total of some 45 million euros in investment has been poured into the facility.