US-based silicone maker Dow Corning Corp has predicted better-than-expected growth in its Greater China area of operations this year based on cooperation with Taiwan’s renewable energy and consumer electronics sectors, company executives said yesterday.
Dow Corning Greater China president Jeremy Burks said that the trend to thinner and lighter electronics products meant that Taiwan would be the focus of the company’s growth in the area over the medium-term.
“The growth of the manufacturing industry in the world is taking place in Greater China, and Taiwan is an important engine for that growth,” Burks said at a media briefing in Taipei. “Our expectations here will be a growing share of business coming from this region. We’re pretty aggressive about that.”
The company aims to achieve higher sales growth in its Greater China area this year than the 17 percent recorded in the first quarter of the year for global operations, Burks said.
As Taiwan is a leader in the field of portable consumer electronics, all devices are likely to be made lighter and easier to use in the future. That could be achieved through Dow Corning’s technological research, he added.
Currently 45 percent of Dow Corning’s global sales revenue is spent on research and development, with more than 45 percent of the company’s Taiwanese employees involved this field, Burks said.
In November last year, Dow Corning opened the largest integrated silicone manufacturing facility in China to meet growing demand in the region. The plant is expected to reach total -capacity of about 210,000 tonnes a year for the key materials siloxane and pyrogenic silica.
In December last year, the company also opened China Business and Technology Center, a cutting-edge research and development facility in Shanghai.
“These investments and efforts will significantly enhance our ability to meet Taiwan’s growing demand for silicone, while reducing overall costs and logistics time for our Taiwanese clients,” said Chen Kun-long (陳昆榮), general manager of Dow Corning’s Taiwan operations.
In addition, the two facilities will enable Dow Corning Taiwan to do its part to contribute to sustainable development in the region by reducing the environmental footprint of transportation and unleashing the power of silicon chemistry, Chen said.
Dow Corning, a company co-owned by Dow Chemical and Corning Inc, celebrated 30 years of operations in Taiwan yesterday. Its sales in the country grew 50 percent last year, driven mainly by new products and applications in Taiwan’s solar and LED sectors.
Products from the silicon-based innovator and manufacturer have been used in a number of high-profile projects in Taiwan, including the Kaohsiung Stadium — the main venue of the 2009 World Games and the first stadium in the world powered by solar energy — and Taipei 101, where Dow Corning silicone was used to protect against extreme weather and promote energy efficiency.
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