SHANGHAI - Enthone Inc., the chemistries arm of Cookson Electronics, opened a $3 million technical service center in Shanghai. The facility will process functional and decorative coatings for use in automotive, plumbing and other surface finishing applications. In total, five plating lines will be installed for pre-treatment, plating and post-treatment chemical processing.

Hubb van Dun, president, said, "In 2004, Enthone achieved a breakthrough market position in aluminum wheel plating in Asia. We will continue to evaluate and invest in technologies, applications and markets that expand our Enthone chemistry business and support the needs of our worldwide customers."

The center, home to about 60 employees, is equipped with advanced instrumentation analysis, including AAS, UV/VIS, CVS and a CASS test chamber that will analyze a range of materials, including decorative accessories, functional items and electronics components.