(Yicai) Jan. 16 -- Shares in Jiangsu Libert advanced today after the Chinese industrial modules maker said it has secured a CNY650 million (USD91 million) contract from TopOlefin Technology to construct a high-end optical materials factory.

Libert’s share price [SHA:605167] closed up 3.1 percent at CNY10.19 (USD1.42).

Libert will provide TopOlefin with a range of services from the modular design of the plant to equipment procurement, assembly, commissioning and staff training, the Nanjing-based company said, citing the contract signed between the two parties.

The new facility will have an annual output of 7,000 tons of SOOCs, a type of cyclic olefin copolymer, and a yearly capacity of 41,000 tons of other optical resins, it said. The first production line should be completed within 20 months and the second within 18 months, it added.

The project will help Libert accumulate more modular construction experience in the high-end optical materials sector and enhance the company’s advantages in the industry, it added.

TopOfelin is the first Chinese company to be able to independently mass produce SOOCs, which are mainly used in high-end optical components such as optical lenses and sensors as well as medical packaging equipment including vaccine bottles. Before this, the material used to make optical imaging and display devices was solely dependent on imports.

And it is the second SOOC factory that Libert has been contracted to make for TopOfelin. Costing CNY1.3 billion (USD185 million), the first phase of the first plant was put into operation in November last year with an output of 21,000 tons a year. And a subsidiary of Libert has been granted a franchise to distribute the material.

Editor: Kim Taylor