On April 11, 2018, Symrise inaugurated its new creative center in Pudong, Shanghai. The production facility in Nantong was also celebrating the completion of the first construction phase. China is one of the key sales markets for the fragrance and flavouring manufacturer. Symrise has been active in the Chinese market for 36 years. The company intends to continue on its course of growth with these investments.
“With our new Creative Center in Shanghai, we have created a cutting-edge environment for our fragrance creation. It should be a clear sign to both our Chinese customers and our employees there of our intention and commitment to further drive forward our growth in China,” says Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise AG. The new creative center in Shanghai is an investment about € 8 Mio. Here, experienced perfumers will develop almost 9,000 different fragrances for the Chinese market every year. A generous amount of space and specially furnished rooms will offer plenty of space for creation and market research. They will include a fragrance creation and compounding area with doubled working space, an application laboratory for customer samples, hair and home care test rooms as well as consumer insights facilities. Short passages between the various areas include efficiency aspects into the building’s design.
China: a Key Market for 36 Years
Symrise started its business activities in China back in 1982 as one of the first joint ventures ever in Shanghai. This milestone in the company’s history made Symrise the first international supplier of fragrances on the Chinese mainland. “Our bold and forward-looking decision to go to China at that time has paid off. Today, we generate about a quarter of our sales in the Asia-Pacific region, where China plays an important role. We want to strengthen our position there in the long term,” said Bertram.
Additional Production Site in China
Symrise is therefore investing 50 Mio. € (phase I, planned total investment 83 Mio. €) in a new production facility for fragrances and flavours in Nantong. With over 7.3 million inhabitants, the city is key member of Shanghai One-hour economic circle. The high-speed train connection to Shanghai and metro (under construction) will make the location even more attractive in the future.
Moreover, Nantong is to receive a green lung and incorporate many aspects of sustainability into its infrastructure. Symrise intends to follow this approach and promote sustainable technologies which will lead to an environmental friendly footprint throughout the premises. The around 5 hectare plot of land will allow Symrise to further exploit the growth opportunities and expand the capacities in the in the coming years. The new operation is the second production site in China, which is becoming the world’s largest flavour and fragrance market.