Specialty chemical company Lubrizol announced on Thursday it will build a US$40 million factory in Shanghai, the largest investment it has made worldwide in the past decade.

The 31,000-square-meter plant in Songjiang industrial zone will make primary resins, polymers and specialty additives.

Construction is planned to begin in the third quarter of this year and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The US-based Fortune 500 company has produced fuel additives and lubricants for 75 years.

"This investment helps us further expand our global reach and improve our operational efficiency in China, a fast-growing market and an important one for Lubrizol," said Charles Cooley, senior vice-president of the firm.

The company's total global revenue in 2006 reached $4 billion, 20 percent of which came from Asia.

"China is the second-largest market following the US for Lubrizol, with the revenue of at least $100 million," Cooley said.

Lubrizol's first business in China was selling lubricant additive technology to Sinopec. The company established its first representative office in Beijing in 2006 and formed two joint ventures with Sinopec for blending plants in Tianjin and Lanzhou.

"Our target for expansion in China is to grow profits by 9 to 10 percent per year," he said.

The company will also rebrand its products to include the name Lubrizol instead of Noveon, which it has been using in China.

"The change will simplify our communication with all stakeholders and clarify the company's identity," said Cooley.

Headquartered in Wickliffe, Ohio, the company owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 20 countries and has sales and technical offices around the world