Kuncai Material Technologies has built a production plant in Fuqing, China, which uses its own extraction process to produce titanium dioxide and iron oxides with a focus on sustainability. The company is now looking to expand into Europe.
In 2019, Kuncai Material Technologies has started to set up a new plant in Fuqing, China, for the composite production of up to 500,000 tons each of titanium dioxide and iron oxides. What is new about this production facility is the manufacturing process: Instead of relying on the established sulphate or chloride processes, it uses a proprietary extraction process patented by Kuncai. This process should guarantee a high product quality that is even superior to the classic qualities produced using the chloride process. The products should also be characterised by a high sustainability factor. A large proportion of the raw and auxiliary materials are reused directly in the production process or fed back into the process as far as possible in closed-loop systems. In addition, the entire production infrastructure is designed for low energy consumption in the production process and designed accordingly. A large proportion of the energy required is also provided by the company’s own photovoltaic system.
Further developments planned
After thoroughly testing the product quality on the regional Asian market, Kuncai is now embarking on the path to internationalization. Kuncai introduces the first product for the plastics sector in Europe. TiOEX 803 is the first pigment in a series of titanium dioxides especially developed for use in masterbatches and compounds. The pigment can achieve high opacity at a low concentration. This can lead to an optimized cost-benefit ratio in final formulations.
In the medium term, the product portfolio is to be expanded to include other grades, which can then also be used in other polymer systems as well as in coating systems, printing inks and even papers. The titanium dioxides will be followed by iron oxides for technical applications, which will also be marketed in the European Economic Area. Kuncai has founded a new company in Germany, Kuncai Pigments Europe in Grossostheim for the European distribution of the new product series.
The newly formed team will be led by Dr. Corinna Ludwig. She has been with Kuncai for more than 6 years as Global Marketing Director and has more than 25 years of experience in the pigment industry. “I look forward to driving an established market with a new generation of product positioning focused on efficient resource management and sustainability,” said Dr. Corinna Ludwig.
