Saertex (Saerbeck / Germany; www.saertex.com) is building a second Chinese plant in Taicang / Jiangsu Province at an investment cost of EUR 5-7m. The new facility initially will manufacture unidirectional and multiaxial glass fibre fabrics, also known as non-crimp-fabrics (NCF). The office buildings are already in use, while a cold storage house for impregnated tubes used in sewer rehabilitation and manufactured by subsidiary Saertex multicom is still under construction. NCF production is slated to begin in 2011, with an expected workforce of 30-50 employees.

The eleventh of Saertex’s global manufacturing facilities, the new plant is supposed to better serve the environs of Shanghai, which have so far been serviced by the company’s plant in Dongying / Shandong Province, in operation since 2008.

Initially, Saertex plans to process glass fibres (e-glass and high modulus glass), with plans to add carbon fibre fabrics in the medium term. Most virgin fibres destined for Chinese production will be obtained from local sources, whereas fibres procured for Saertex’s other plants will be sourced mostly from western manufacturers. China’s main sales industries for glass fibres include wind energy, aviation, civil engineering and automotive.

At its plant in Stade / Germany, Saertex manufactures fabrics for the pressure bulkhead of the Airbus “A 380”, among others.