U.S. manufacturer Honeywell is to invest 13.5 million U.S. dollars in the expansion of its Asia-Pacific research and development center in Shanghai.

The expansion project, which is expected to be completed in July 2007, will aid the development of Honeywell's four strategic business groups, namely Aerospace, Automation and Control Solutions, Transportation Systems and Specialty Materials, according to a company source.

The company believes that key global trends such as air safety, energy efficiency, commercial construction and industrial and airport security will continue to drive demand for new technologies, said the company source. A larger center will be well equipped to help meet those needs, it said.

The core part of the expansion is phase II of a project to expand Honeywell Specialty Materials' research space, covering research projects in fluorides, specialty chemicals and electronics.

Honeywell is a 26-billion-dollar diversified technology and manufacturing corporation. It began trading in China in 1935. Over the years, Honeywell has established 21 joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries in 13 Chinese cities.

In 2003, Honeywell moved its Asia-Pacific corporate headquarters to Shanghai. It launched the Shanghai-based R&D center in 2004, with an investment of 80 million U.S. dollars.

Source: Xinhua