Arkema's specialty materials plant in Jurong set to create hundreds of jobs in 2022

FRENCH specialty materials manufacturer Arkema announced on Tuesday that its new plant on Jurong Island is in the final stages of construction.

Upon completion, it is estimated that a few hundred new jobs will be created in Singapore, including a mix of the high-skilled roles in manufacturing, processes and plant maintenance as well as opportunities in finance, supply chain, and more, said Arkema in a press release.

The plant, set to open in the first half of 2022, will manufacture the company's flagship Rilsan Polyamide 11 as well as other specialty materials, helping boost its global supply capacity by 50 per cent.

The Polyamide 11 is a type of plastic used in various industries such as textiles and in the automotive industry. Manufactured by Arkema, it is also fully made of bio-based products derived from castor beans.

Including the setting up of downstream polymer capacities in China, the company's investment in the region rounds up to a total of approximately 450 million euros (S$726 million), which it said was the largest sum it has ever invested thus far.

Chief operating officer of Arkema Marc Schuller said at a virtual presentation on Tuesday that the investment in Singapore comes as part of the company's plans to actively grow its presence in Asia.

He added that Singapore's attributes, such as its research and innovation capabilities as well as talent pool were some of the reasons that made the country an attractive place to help the company reach its growth objectives.

Executive vice president of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) Tan Kong Hwee, who was speaking as a panel guest at the presentation, said the project was also well supported by the government for its alignment with Singapore's plans to "lower carbon economy".

Earlier this year, Singapore had announced plans to halve its 2030 peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as part of the country's long-term low-emission development strategy.

"The investment is an example of how Singapore is leveraging our capabilities in innovation and advanced manufacturing to address green growth opportunities such as the rising global demand for sustainable, high performance chemicals and materials," said Beh Swan Gin, chairman of EDB.