China Sunsine to start insoluble sulphur production

By David Shaw, ERJ staff
Singapore -- China Sunsine claims to be the biggest producer of accelerators in the world - bigger than any other competitor. Last year it increased capacity for accelerators to 50 kt/year from 30 kt/year to serve its global markets. According to Koh Choon Kong, chief Financial Officer, the company sold around 32 kt of accelerator in 2008, which made its existing capacity full, so it expanded in 2008 to 50 kt/year. He said he thinks that capacity will be full by the end of this year. He said he has good support from the customers. Rouhly 55 percent of sales were from the domestic Chinese and 45 percent is exports in 2008.

Currently, the export sector is focussed in Asia, with minimal sales into either Europe or North America. However, these are growing as Asian companies establish more manufacturing bases in the two regions, he said.

The company has grown from nothing in 1994, to the biggest producer of rubber accelerators in the world. In 1998 it was priovatised and sales greew rapidly thereafter, from RMB 20 million then to RMB 800 million in 2008.

Koh said this was due to a combnation of competitive pricing and international quality levels. The plant, based in Xian Xin, in Shandong goves the company its name. Pronounced, Chjina Sun Seen, it is nothing to do with sunshine.

He said China Sunsine emphasises product quality and especially batch-to-batch consistency. other companies in China, he said often begin by making good material, but the limits drifts after a few batches, and this leads to poor quality.

The company focusses on the tyre sector and has capacity for 5000 tonnes/year TMQ as well as accelerators. All its products have been pre-registered under Europe's REACH scheme
Building on this success, Koh said the company will in the coming year open a plant to make up to 5000 t/year of insoluble sulphur and is exploring the possibiloity of making IPPD and 6PPD materials.