US industrial gases producer Air Products is building a new plant for ultra-high purity gases and related infrastructure in the Pukou Economic Development Zone (PKEDZ) near Nanjing in eastern China. The site is 35 kilometers from the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park (NCIP), where the US gases producer has already built up a position serving several hundred customers through pipelines and other supply modes.

Output at PKEDZ is earmarked for Air Products customers in the chemical park that will be home to advanced manufacturing sectors including integrated circuit (IC), new materials and biomedicine.

“This is a strategic project and important milestone for Air Products. First, it demonstrates our commitment to support our valued customers as they expand internationally,” said Saw Choon Seong, China president, Industrial Gases, Air Products.

Second, Saw said, the investment positions the company for continued growth, fueled by China’s booming semiconductor industry and its high-tech manufacturing target under the 13th Five Year Plan. It is also designed further strengthen the gases producer’s position in Nanjing, which he said “is a rising star of world-class IC manufacturing.”

In the NCIP park, where Air Products began investing 10 years ago, the company operates three large air separation units serving multiple park tonnage customers, including Wison and Celanese, via pipelines as well the city’s merchant gas markets.