German Symrise AG opened its biggest individual investment. The company invested € 50 m in the construction of the new production site for flavourings and fragrances in Nantong. In addition, the Executive Board, senior staff, plant workers and guests opened the facility virtually – in a video conference – for the first time. CEO Dr Heinz-Jürgen Bertram and CFO Olaf Klinger conveyed their greetings via live video from Holzminden.

According to the press release, the decision to build at this location, in the industrial park on the green field, was made back in 2016. The site convinced the company with its versatile potential. Modern infrastructure, an attractive business environment and a number of sustainability aspects were the deciding factors in the plans for the site near Shanghai. Symrise celebrated its topping out ceremony two years ago. Already then, you could tell by its dimensions that the Group was building a state-of-the-art production facility geared toward the future and growth.

The expansion of the production of fragrances and flavourings in the rapidly expanding Chinese market makes sense, because the world’s second-largest economy has great potential to soon become number one. This development correlates with the history of Symrise in the country. In the past ten years, the company has grown around 8% per year on average. With a 6% share of total sales, China follows the USA and Germany as the third-strongest revenue-generating market for Symrise.