Engelhard to manufacture auto-emission catalysts in China

29 June 1999

Engelhard Corporation announced it has entered into a joint venture to manufacture and market auto-emission catalysts in the People’s Republic of China.

The new company, Shanghai Engelhard SINOPEC Environmental Technologies Ltd., is 60% owned by Engelhard and 40% by SINOPEC International Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of SINOPEC, China’s largest petroleum refiner.

The joint venture is planning to begin production in the Pudong section of Shanghai by early next year. Initial production will be sufficient to meet market demand and ramp up incrementally as clean-air regulations take effect and drive catalyst demand over the next several years.

Environmental protection is a growing concern for government officials in China in the wake of accelerated economic development. Beginning this year, regional environmental bureaus in Shanghai and Beijing require all new cars to be fuel injected and fitted with catalytic converters. National emission standards similar to Euro I standards for cars and light commercial vehicles are expected to be in place in 2000. Stricter regulations that correspond to Euro II standards are anticipated in 2005. Euro I standards first took effect in Europe in the early 1990s and Euro II standards after 1996.

Engelhard is the first major auto-catalyst supplier to establish a formal presence in China.

Engelhard pioneered auto-emission catalysis, commercializing the first catalytic converter in 1974. Today, Engelhard is the world’s largest developer and manufacturer of auto-emission catalysts, supplying more than a third of the catalysts on the road. Engelhard and its partners now operate auto-catalyst plants in the United States, Germany, South Africa, Japan, Korea and India. Another plant is presently under construction in Brazil.

Source: Engelhard Corporation