Asia has a fundamental role to play in our accelerated growth strategy. China in particular is integral to our strategic focus on the world’s high growth regions, highlighted by our intention to achieve a $3 billion revenue target in China by 2015 – doubling the previous target.
The Ningbo multi-site, which we inaugurated in November 2010, perfectly illustrates the scale of our ambitions. The €275 million facility represents our biggest ever investment outside of an acquisition and emphasizes the extent of our commitment to fuelling accelerated growth in China and beyond.
AkzoNobel’s Functional Chemicals business is already producing chelates, ethylene amines and ethylene oxide at the Ningbo site and is adding an organic peroxides plant, which is expected to come on stream in late 2011. The 50-hectare plot also offers room for expansion and further investment in organic growth as we look to significantly boost our presence and capabilities.
We currently employ around 6,500 people in China and have close to 30 production sites located there. These facilities enable us to optimize our global supply chain and respond to growing demand for our products. Being located close to our growing customer base in China also gives us a competitive advantage.