From April 16 to 28, Hao Zhigang, Chairman and Party Secretary of Bluestar, visited European subsidiaries for inspection and instruction on the production and operation, R&D innovation, and brought greetings and support to frontline executives and workers.

Adisseo

"The innovation brings value, and it is the first pillar of the company”

On April 21, Hao Zhigang visited Adisseo R&I Center in St-Fons (near Lyon–France) and the pilot laboratories in view of future developments in terms of chemistry and process engineering. He addressed a few important messages to the R&I community.

He reminded the importance of Adisseo and its R&I to Sinochem. "The innovation brings value, and it is the first pillar of the company. We need to continue to invest in the research and Innovation, especially on the specialty products to meet market needs. A project like Pixar (project of powder methionine plant in China) will bring a competitive cost rate compared to our competitors.“

The Q&A session was the opportunity for Adisseo employees to address their questions to Hao Zhigang about the vision of the group regarding the rapid development of artificial intelligence, sustainability or to speed up exchanges with the research teams of Sinochem.

“Safety remains our top priority”

Subsequently, Hao Zhigang visited the Adisseo Les Roches plant. The location of Les Roches is strategic, as it is where MMP is produced as an intermediate to the final synthesis of liquid methionine (AT88) in Burgos, and powder methionine (NP99) in Roussillon and Commentry.

After debriefing the report from the management on the production and operation of the plant, Hao Zhigang provided several useful insights and questioned how to maximize the contribution of the site and the European industrial platform to Adisseo results. He insisted that safety remains our top priority and welcomed the challenging objective set by the site. On digitalization, He questioned if advanced process control (APC) is used to improve yields and margin. He encouraged the site to benefit from the experience in Bluestar companies in China or in Elkem in Europe. He also supported the implementation of ideas and small projects that improve operational excellence and incremental results, resulting in new efficiencies and stronger competitiveness.

The visit was also an opportunity to bring together all Adisseo employees involved in the major maintenance turnaround. Hao Zhigang addressed the team. and underlined that he was very appreciative of the work carried out by the entire team during the last 6-weeks.

He highlighted the importance of the European platform, and that the contribution of every employee is key for the success of Adisseo and the delivery of our products to the final customer.

“Accelerating the progress of integration and taking advantage of synergies”

On April 25, Hao Zhigang visited Nor-Feed for inspection and instruction. Nor-Feed is a French company based in the west part of France, which develops, and markets natural feed additives and ingredients made of botanicals for animal health and nutrition.

After a tour of the factory and a presentation by the management team, Hao Zhigang was impressed by the quality of Nor-Feed's solutions, the proactive management on safety, and the new factory. Considering the undeniable distinctive advantages of Nor-Feed, he is convinced that the company has all the assets to be the world champion of Botanic, natural and sustainable additive technology being a promising segment for the future.

Hao Zhigang believes that Adisseo's strong support will allow to accelerate the penetration, not only in China, of key Adisseo customers, by relying on Adisseo's sales networks to facilitate adoption of Nor-Feed’s products.

“Actively exploring the Chinese market to cultivate new momentum for sustainable development”

On the same day, Hao Zhigang traveled to Segré near Angers, to visit a new plant of Innov’ia that started up on March 15, 2023.

Innov’ia is Adisseo’s subsidiary specializing in the formulation and production of functional ingredients in powder form. The new plant, with an investment of EUR 37.8 million, has three production lines, the first of which is already in operation, while the second and third are scheduled to commence production in June and November this year respectively.

After visiting the different areas of the site: the loading dock, the storage area for raw materials, the atomization tower, and the control room, Hao Zhigang and his delegation had a comprehensive and intuitive understanding of the development potential and competitive advantages of the new plant. He encouraged the team to actively explore the Chinese market to cultivate new momentum for sustainable development.

Elkem

“Silicones applications that are essential to modern society”

On April 20, Hao Zhigang and his delegation visited Elkem Silicone’s new research and innovation center in Lyon, which started operations in 2021.

By visiting several labs (silicone rubber, healthcare 3D printing, formulated applications), Hao Zhigang gained a deep understanding of Elkem Silicones’ activities and strategy in the EMEA region and how the company is positioning itself in a silicones market expected to grow, driven in particular by the green shift and international carbon neutrality goals. After learning about Elkem Silicones’ latest product and process innovations, developed by local teams, he met the teams of several labs, illustrating silicones applications that are essential to modern society. He also visited the analytical laboratory and its nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) equipment, as well as the teams working on developing a circular economy for silicones.

“Following market trends and targeting broader application areas”

The group then visited the silicone production sites in Saint-Fons and Roussillon. They visited the HCR workshop, upstream synthesis, distillation and other facilities, including the latest transformations in the silicones elastomers production workshop, but also a new high-voltage electricity delivery station, new environmental analysis laboratory, new emergency retention pit, and a new flammable products storage facility meeting the latest safety standards.

A highlight was the inauguration by Hao Zhigang of a new vinyl oil production unit, which will serve the silicone specialties growth strategy of Elkem. This unit is critical as it provides key intermediates for many other downstream silicone products. During the ceremony, Hao Zhigang congratulated the project team on its success.

Salaise manufacturing site is a recently-acquired specialty manufacturing site for organo-functional silicones. At present, its full commissioning has been completed and the first batch of products was delivered to customers at the beginning of the year. During the visit, with communicating with the management on product technology, marketing, collaboration, and other matters, Hao Zhigang was deeply impressed by the employees’ positive and passionate attitude, as well as their clear goal-oriented and practical spirit. He hoped that the manufacturing site would connect to EBS (Elkem Business System) quickly, comply with market trends, and target a wider range of application areas to provide customers with more specialty silicone product solutions with higher quality.

“Aiming to grow by more than 5% per year”

Hao Zhigang attended and addressed the Elkem’s Ordinary General Meeting on April 28 in Norway.

According to him, Elkem is among very few companies with complete and integrated value chains in different regions, making the company less vulnerable to macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical challenges. Thanks to Elkem’s dual-play growth and green leadership strategies, Elkem concluded 2022 with an all-time high financial result, and it was also a strong year in terms of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG). Looking ahead, Elkem is confident that global market demand will remain strong, and aims to grow by more than 5% per year.

Wang Yan, Director of Bluestar Strategy Execution Dept., Jean-Marc Dublanc, CEO of Adisseo, Frederic Jacquin, COO of Adisseo, Helge Aasen, CEO of Elkem, and Larry Zhang, Senior Vice-President of Elkem, participated in this inspection and instruction.?