QINGDAO, China, Sept. 14, 2009 – Marked by a day of festive activities, blue skies, sunshine and an enthusiastic guest list of more than 200, Huber Engineered Materials (HEM), a division of J.M. Huber Corporation, formally celebrated the official opening of its Qingdao silica plant with a special ceremony Sept. 2. The newly-constructed manufacturing facility that is producing Huber dental silicas is located in the coastal city of Qingdao, China, in the Shandong province.
The opening ceremony’s festivities included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and speeches given by Qingdao dignitaries and Huber officials. Keynote addresses were delivered by Benjamin Fitzpatrick, who serves on Huber’s Board of Directors, and Ma Weigang, Vice Director of the Qingdao Development Zone (QDZ) government administrative committee.
A number of special guests were invited to the celebration, including Qingdao governmental officials and Huber’s national and international dental silica customers. The day also included plant tours, so guests could get an up-close look at the equipment and processes used in silica production. In addition to the opening ceremony event, Huber hosted a technical seminar which focused on the performance characteristics of the complete portfolio of Huber’s Zeodent® dental silicas, which are produced at Qingdao.
“The celebration went extremely well and was a fabulous way to officially open Huber’s new state-of-the-art silica plant, as the Qingdao officials and our customers were very impressed by the facility,” says Chris Vanhee, general manager – Qingdao. “I’m especially proud of my Huber colleagues who’ve worked extremely hard to create a world-class silica plant. We are pleased to be in Qingdao and look forward to working with the city and its officials and citizens in the months and years ahead.”
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The Qingdao plant will produce over 40,000 metric tons of precipitated dental silica annually and enable Huber to more effectively serve its growing customer base in the Asia Pacific region.
“We are proud of the new facility, as it significantly expands Huber’s global Silica manufacturing footprint and is a critical part of our strategy to meet the needs of customers in this important region of the world,” explains Chuck Herak, vice president and general manager of Huber’s Silica business unit. “The plant will allow us to manufacture high quality dental silicas for the Asian and Chinese toothpaste markets.”
The Qingdao plant will produce a broad range of dentifrice products from Huber’s proven Zeodent thickeners to its cleaning abrasives. The Qingdao silica plant joins six other Huber global silica manufacturing locations: Havre de Grace, MD (U.S.); Etowah, TN (U.S.); Oostende, Belgium; Hamina, Finland; Uddevalla, Sweden; and Jhagadia, India.
Formulators wanting more insight on Huber’s silica processing capabilities are encouraged to call 1-800-704-8254 (U.S. Headquarters) or [+86 21] 5175-8488 (China Office) or visit www.hubermaterials.com.
