Celanes Corporation, a US business specializing in special materials for the production of engineering plastics, opened an R&D center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi-do.

According to an announcement made by the Gyeonggi-do Office on May 20, Celanes Corporation, which opened an R&D center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi-do, is a Fortune 500 global chemicals business. The R&D center in Pangyo is the second one opened by the US business in Asia after the Celanes Commercial Technology Center opened in China this year.

Celanes’s newly opened R&D center in Pangyo will engage in technological development for bio science, industrial robots, semiconductor, electrical and electronic goods, cars, consumables, and information technology as well as innovative technology for chemical goods. The Dallas, Texas-based business also plans to build a manufacturing facility in Korea.

Established in 1981, Celanes produces special materials for a wide variety of sectors including painting/coating materials and textiles. In 2013, the business recorded $6.5 billion in sales. The number of employees is about 7,400.

The event held at the JW Marriot Hotel, Seoul at 6:00 PM on May 20 to celebrate the opening of Celanes’s R&D center in Pangyo was attended by 130-plus people, including Gyeonggi Vice Governor for Economy Nam Chung-hui , Celanes Corporation Vice Chairman  Todd Elliott, and Celanes Korea President Yu Jin-seon.

Commenting on the opening of Celanes’s R&D center in Pangyo, Mr. Nam Chung-hee  noted that the Pangyo Techno Valley, where the R&D center of Celanes will be located, currently houses a total of 682 global R&D businesses specializing in information technology, bio technology, etc., and hiring 50,135 employees. “I wish Celanes a successful business utilizing the world-class infrastructure and talented people there,” he added.