Covestro officially opened its new Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPU) Application Development (AD) Center in Guangzhou, China, marking a significant milestone in implementing the company’s strategy to bring innovation closer to customers across Asia-Pacific.

Covestro officially opened its new TPU Application Development Center in Guangzhou, China.

The new AD Center complements the company’s soon-to-be largest global TPU production site in Zhuhai, China, which began operations earlier this year, and its existing regional R&D center in Changhua, Taiwan, China. Together, the three sites form an integrated network spanning R&D, application development and large-scale manufacturing.

Further readings: Covestro launches new TPU production site in South China

Stronger demand for TPU at Asia-Pacific market

The Asia-Pacific TPU market, particularly in South China, continues to see strong demand from fast-growing sectors such as consumer electronics, automotive and specialty films. The Guangzhou AD Center strengthens the company’s ability to translate this demand into tailored material solutions through closer technical collaboration with customers.

“We will explore, pilot and upscale new application fields for TPU in robotics, healthcare and mobility solutions together with our customers – in close collaboration and at the heart of the market,” said Dr. Andrea Maier-Richter, Global Head of TPU at Covestro.

Capabilities designed for speed and precision

The center is designed to help customers move faster. Its processing simulation lines replicate real production conditions in extrusion and injection molding, enabling rapid formulation adjustments and material modification. These capabilities help reduce trial cycles, shorten time-to-market, and deliver solutions tailored to specific application needs.

“Asia is home to some of the world’s most dynamic and fast-moving industries, and our customers here expect partners who can keep pace with them,” explained Holly Lei, President of Covestro China.

Unlocking value through cross-business synergies

A distinctive feature of the Guangzhou AD Center is its multi-business setup, with Engineering Plastics (EP) and Specialty Films (SF) teams co-located on the same site, enabling close collaboration and faster integration of capabilities.

The EP unit brings compounding expertise and color competence, supporting in-house color matching for applications such as consumer electronics, footwear and paint protection films (PPF). The SF unit enables pilot production and finished product commissioning for high-performance films and other extrusion-based applications.

This integrated approach brings together capabilities across business entities, creating added value for customers.

The Guangzhou AD Center is now open for customer and partner collaboration across Asia-Pacific, offering end-to-end customer support from initial material consultation to pilot production and troubleshooting.