Chinese chemical multinational Wanhua inaugurates its new innovation center in Catalonia, creating 30 new jobs

The Chinese chemical sector multinational Wanhua opened its new innovation center in Catalonia yesterday, established in Cornellà de Llobregat (Baix Llobregat), where it will create 30 new jobs. The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister for Business and Labour, Roger Torrent, as well as the Director General of Industry, Oriol Alcoba. Wanhua is one of the world's leading companies in the chemical industry, with over 29,000 employees worldwide, having had a presence in Europe only in Hungary and the Czech Republic up until now.

Wanhua's investment project in Catalonia received support from the Government through ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment - the agency for business competitiveness belonging to the Ministry for Business and Labour. In fact, Minister Torrent announced the project during an institutional visit to China last October.

“Our Barcelona technical center will serve as a beacon of innovation, collaboration, and excellence, driving our continued success and shaping the future of Wanhua Chemical”

Dr. Weiqi Hua, Executive Vice President of Wanhua Chemical

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According to the Minister for Business and Labour, “Wanhua's commitment is a new demonstration of Catalonia's potential in the chemical sector, which we lead in Southern Europe”. For Torrent, Wanhua's arrival in Catalonia "consolidates this position and at the same time allows us to add a new influential player to an industrial ecosystem that is moving towards more sustainable models".

The Executive Vice President of Wanhua, Dr Weiqi Hua, also explained, “The establishment of our Barcelona technical center represents a significant investment in the future of Wanhua Chemical. I am confident that it will serve as a beacon of innovation, collaboration, and excellence, driving our continued success and shaping the future of Wanhua Chemical”.

This center features a laboratory and office space aimed at developing new technical solutions tailored to the European and North African markets and serving as an innovation platform to generate new ideas and technologies. Additionally, the new center represents a new talent attraction hub for Wanhua and a reference space to provide timely technical services to European clients.

With over 6,200 registered patents, Wanhua specializes in manufacturing chemical products such as polyurethanes, performance chemicals, and emerging materials for sectors including automotive, green energy, construction, and electronics. The company operates 10 production centers in Yantai, Ningbo, Sichuan, Fujian, and Zhuhai and has subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, and Brazil, among others.

Over 200 subsidiaries of Chinese companies in Catalonia

With Wanhua's establishment in Catalonia, a new subsidiary of the Chinese parent company arrives in the region, contributing to a growing trend as Catalonia now hosts over 200 subsidiaries of Chinese companies, a stark increase from around forty a decade ago. In fact, China ranks third among non-European countries with the highest number of subsidiaries present in Catalonia, trailing only the United States and Japan.

ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment has introduced multiple programs in recent years to assist Chinese companies in setting up their operations in Catalonia. The latest initiative is the China Desk. In recent years, various cooperation agreements have been signed with both businesses and public institutions to enhance technological cooperation and business relationships between the two regions.