Resins and chemical maker Nuplex is boosting its manufacturing capacity in Asia to meet growing demand, as the company also mulls relocating to Australia for tax purposes.
Speaking at the company's annual meeting in Auckland on Wednesday, Nuplex's new chief executive, Emery Severin, said volumes during the first quarter of this year have softened in China and South East Asian markets, but the company is anticipating rapid growth over the next few years, and its current factories in the region are running at full, or near full capacity.
The company has committed to expanding its facility in Vietnam and to two new sites in China, he says.
Despite its main business being resins and chemicals, Mr Severin says Nuplex is now also the largest importer of liquid chocolate in New Zealand, and it's hoping to further expand this business.
Nuplex raised more than $26 million last year in order to shore up its balance sheet. Mr Severin says the company is hoping buy more companies in the next few years in order to grow, and shareholders could be asked for more cash.
Meanwhile, the chairman of Nuplex, Rob Aitken, assured investors at the meeting that the board is still evaluating moving the company's domicile across the Tasman.
The proposal faced opposition from some of the Nuplex's institutional investors earlier this year, but Mr Aitken says there's been no backdown, and nothing has yet been decided.
