Laticrete International celebrated the grand opening of its manufacturing plant in China on April 2nd at Songjiang, Shanghai.  Laticrete (Shanghai) Building Material Co. Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based Laticrete International. The opening of the China facility represented another milestone in the firm's fifty plus years of presence worldwide. David Rothberg, chairman and 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 the gala grand opening ceremony.

The building of the new production and research center in Songjiang, Shanghai started in Sept. 2007.  The new plant is the first fully owned Laticrete plant outside 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.

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

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," adds 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."

All of Laticrete products are Greenguard certified and offer LEED credits. Since the company's onset, Laticrete products have been architecturally specified and professionally endorsed by installers.