Nafine Chemical Industry Group Co Ltd, one of the biggest State-holding companies in Yuncheng, is expanding its investment in a research and development (R&D) base in the city.

Nafine Industrial Park in the Yuncheng Economic Development Zone, seen as an R&D base of Nafine Group, covers an area of 34.5 hectares.

The company has made an initial investment of 300 million yuan (US$37.5 million) in the project, including power supply facilities, an exhibition hall for new products and two production lines for special soap and environmentally friendly detergents.

According to the company's executives, Nafine Group plans to invest another 700 million yuan (US$87.5 million) in expanding the R&D base.

So far, a special railway line, a station platform and a large warehouse centre have been put into use in the park.

Rapid growth

Founded in 1998, Nafine Group now has evolved into a business mogul with total assets of 3.6 billion yuan (US$450 million), covering chemicals, light industry, tourism and pharmaceuticals.

As one of the key production centres for mineral salt, detergent and potassium fertilizers in China, the company has an annual production capacity of 1.35 million tons of anhydrous sodium sulphate, 500,000 tons of synthetic detergent and 150,000 tons of potassium sulphate, accounting for 60, 20 and 30 per cent of the country's total respectively.

The group company has established a widespread production and distribution network in eight provinces and regions, by establishing five branches, 16 subsidiaries, and more than 200 representative offices and 2,000 agencies.

Its sales of daily-use chemicals and mineral chemicals rank top in the country.

Meanwhile, its products are also exported to 27 countries and regions and it achieved US$30 million in sales revenue last year.

One of its detergent powder brands, Keon, is regarded as an inspection-free product by the State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine.

Market-oriented strategy and strong R&D investment are the ace cards the company holds for its success.

Nafine Group has established production bases in Shanxi, Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces, and capitalizes on rich sodium sulphate resources there. Thus the company has a comparative advantage in raw material costs.

With 1,500 technical personnel, the company has a strong R&D capability.

Co-operation with a number of well-known universities such as Tsinghua University, Wuxi Light Industry University and North China Institute of Technology has further bolstered the company's strength in research.

(China Daily 07/25/2006 page18)