Located in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei province, China, the manufacturing facility is strategically located at the heart of China, and will provide differentiated, solution-based products with multiple reactors which can handle high viscosity formulations. The facility will be used for the multiple market segments targeted by DES, in particular composites, wind energy and infrastructure.

The DES site in Gumi, South Korea, is also strategically located to support and service customers in North Asia.

“Coupled with our world class R&D capability in Shanghai, our facilities in Wuhan and Gumi will differentiate – and accelerate – our already successful growth in China and the Asia Pacific region, particularly in two key target markets - wind energy and infrastructure,” says Pepe Carnevale, Global Business Director, Dow Epoxy Systems.

According to the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA), the Chinese wind energy market doubled in size in 2008 compared to 2007, reaching over 12 GW of total installed capacity. In 2009, new installed capacity is expected to nearly double again.

The Chinese Government has made investments in rural infrastructure and infrastructural projects as an integral part of its US$586 billion stimulus package, announced in November 2008.

South Korea has also set ambitious growth for the establishment of renewable energies. The South Korean government has reportedly placed orders to build 10 new domestically made wind power generators to help reduce the country's reliance on imports in the renewable energy sector.

Its Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the 2-3 MW wind generators, which are expected to compete commercially with market dominating foreign products, will be built on land owned by three state-run thermal power plants by 2010.