SHANGHAI, CHINA - Laticrete International, Inc. recently celebrated the grand opening of its manufacturing plant in China at Songjiang, Shanghai. Laticrete (Shanghai) Building Material Co. Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S.-based Laticrete International. The opening of the China facility represented another milestone in the firm’s 50-plus years of presence worldwide. David Rothberg, Chairman/CEO, Erno de Bruijn, President, International Division and a great number of Laticrete partners and employee representatives from more than 16 countries and regions attended this gala grand opening ceremony.

The building of the new production and research center in Songjiang, Shanghai, started in September 2007. The new plant is the first fully-owned Laticrete plant outside of the U.S., and has been designed and tailored to meet the stringent quality requirements of Laticrete plants worldwide. Its production line manufactures dry mortars, latex and epoxy products, which include tile and stone adhesives, grouts, latex additives, waterproofing, floor underlayments and EIFS systems serving Greater China.

Rothberg stated, “The increasing trend for thinner and lighter-weight buildings requires even more new and innovative ways to install tile and stone.”

According to Bill Qiu, General Manager of Laticrete (Shanghai) Building Material Co. Ltd, “The establishment of the Laticrete plant clearly indicates our company’s long-term commitment to China.”

It is expected that within the next decade, Laticrete China will exceed the firm’s U.S. market in overall sales volume.

“The secret of success for Laticrete has been and always will be in providing localized cutting-edge solutions for tile and stone installations,” added Erno de Bruijn. “Additionally, Laticrete is committed to training professional tile installers, contractors and industry personnel on the latest methods and materials for trouble free and secure installation of ceramic tile and stone in China. For this reason, we have built a large state-of-the-art training facility at our new Shanghai plant location.”