SABIC SIGNS MOU WITH INNOVO TO JOINTLY DEVELOP INNOVATIVE FOAMED PACKAGING SOLUTIONS FOR CHINA’S BOOMING E-COMMERCE SECTOR

Shanghai, China, November 9, 2017 – SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Innovo Packaging (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a major manufacturer of packaging products in China, to collaborate in innovation to meet the ever-growing demand for packaging solutions in China’s booming e-commerce sector.

Under the agreement, SABIC will pool its expertise in foams with Innovo’s R&D strength and market insights to jointly develop innovative foamed packaging solutions for parcels which are lightweight, more rigid and durable. Innovo’s customers such as delivery services providers will also take part in these joint research and development (R&D) activities. The new solutions are expected to help parcel delivery companies cut logistics costs and boost their competitiveness.

“SABIC’s dedicated global foam team takes pride in inviting customers and value chain partners to work with us and conduct material validation and processing tests together, to develop even better innovative solutions to address the future needs of the foam and light weighting industry. Cooperation with Innovo is a perfect example of such efforts. That’s what we at SABIC call ‘Chemistry That Matters’,” said Ahmed Al-Musfer, Director, Marketing & IS Global, Performance Polymers & Industry Solutions, SABIC.

SABIC’s intensified focus on foams covers the entire value chain. The company boasts a dedicated global foam business and marketing team, enabling the focused and fast implementation of solutions to meet the needs of its global customers and partners. Close cooperation with its customers and partners has enabled SABIC to build up a large bank of knowledge on various foaming processes, and to develop a dedicated, diverse foam portfolio, which is applicable in almost all end applications.

“The fast-growing e-commerce sector is resulting in surging demand for packaging solutions in terms of both volume and diversity. SABIC is a well-established global leader in polyolefins based foam solutions. We are looking forward to working together with SABIC to drive innovative solutions and ultimately create more value for our customers in the e-commerce sector, while promoting environmentally-friendly packaging,” said Chen Gang, CEO of Innovo.

China is now the world’s largest online retail market. Annual online retail sales in the country reached RMB 26.1 trillion in value last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. In 2016, 31.3 billion parcels were delivered in China, up 51% from the previous year, according to the State Post Bureau.

Innovo is mainly engaged in the packaging of EPE (Expanded Polyethylene) products and composite products, and focuses heavily on the e-commerce sector. It also operates a China E-commerce Logistics Packaging R&D Center, with approval and support from the China Packaging Federation. In 2016, the company registered an annual revenue of RMB 329 million, up 57.3% year-on-year.