CHICAGO (July 20, 4:30 p.m. EDT) — Chinese compounder Harbin Xinda High Science and Technology Co. Ltd. has big plans: to become publicly traded through an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
President and General Manager Han Jie told Plastics News at NPE in Chicago that Xinda will be the first Chinese plastics firm to be listed on a stock market outside mainland China and Hong Kong.
Xinda buys raw material from big names like DuPont Co. and is capable of compounding 132.3 million pounds of engineering resins per year, primarily for the automotive industry. The firm handles polypropylene, ABS, nylon, polyethylene, polystyrene and polycarbonate.
The company recently doubled its manufacturing space to 538,200 square feet and added 24 production lines, said Han.
He declined to give a timetable for the IPO.
Last October, Xinda established a joint venture with Hyundai Group. The venture has a starting annual capacity of 22 million pounds of PP compounds.
“We are aiming at the overseas markets. Our engineering resins are very competitive, compared to products made in Germany and the United States,” he said.
Han said the company's research and development center, with more than 40 engineers, is cooperating in research with the South Korean HEP Institute, China's Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University.
“Our resins go into instrument panels, glove boxes, doors, trim, pillars, consoles, center crash pads, fan shrouds, heater cases, etc.,” he said.
Xinda is the first Chinese firm to supply compounds for bumpers on Volkswagen's Jetta model cars made by the Chinese joint venture between VW and First Auto Works.
In addition to supplying auto makers like BMW's venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. (CBA), Toyota's venture with Tianjin Xiali and Hyundai's venture in Beijing, Xinda also supplies to the Daqing branch of Sinopec, China Unicom, LG, the Haier Group and Harbin Aviation Industry (Group) Co. Ltd.
The company also developed downstream business, annually making 6.6 million pounds of high density PE pipe for sewage and telecommunications uses and 100,000 sets of auto wiring.
Last year, Xinda produced 39.7 million pounds of resin and generated 300 million yuan ($37.5 million) in sales. Han said the actual output will double in the next three years.
Claiming to be one of the five largest compounders in China, Xinda started in 1985 as a nylon factory and currently employs 360.