Mitsui Chemicals to Increase Production Capacity for TAFMER™ High-Performance Elastomers

TOKYO--(Business Wire / Korea Newswire)--Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (TOKYO:4183)(President & CEO: Tsutomu Tannowa) today announced that Mitsui Elastomers Singapore Pte Ltd (MELS; Managing Director: Shinya Matsunaga), a wholly owned subsidiary based in Singapore, is set to raise its production capacity for TAFMER™ high-performance elastomers.

TAFMER™ holds a world-leading market share as a resin modifier and soft molding material. Both flexible and lightweight, the elastomer series sees use in a wide range of applications, including automotive materials, packaging materials, solar battery encapsulants, engineering plastic modifiers and sports shoe midsoles.

Global economic growth is driving strong demand for TAFMER™, with automotive material applications in particular expected to see further demand growth going forward. This comes as automobile production numbers continue to rise and tightening environmental regulations spur needs for lightweighting.

Mitsui Chemicals has a long track record when it comes to supplying automotive material manufacturers around the world, focusing here on polypropylene (PP) compounds. To keep up its steady supply moving forward, the company plans to remove bottlenecks at existing TAFMER™ production facilities, allowing it to increase production capacity for the elastomer series.

Mitsui Chemicals and MELS are also considering additional increases to supply capacity for TAFMER™ as they look to grow their business here further. Through these plans, Mitsui Chemicals intends to be proactive in maintaining and strengthening its position as holding the top global share in this area.

Outline of Expanded Production Capacity

1. Product: TAFMER™ high-performance elastomers
2. Factory location: Jurong Island, Singapore
3. Production Capacity: 200,000 tons/year (before expansion) → 225,000 tons/year (following expansion)
4. Schedule: Completion in July 2020 (tentative)
 
Overview of MELS

1. Company Name: Mitsui Elastomers Singapore Pte Ltd
2. Head Office: 3 HarbourFront Place #10-01 HarbourFront Tower 2 Singapore 099254, Singapore
3. Establishment: February 2001
4. Capital: US$ 96.3 million (wholly owned by Mitsui Chemicals)
5. Managing Director: Shinya Matsunaga
6. Business: Manufacture and sale of elastomers
 
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This is a news release distributed by Korea Newswire on behalf of this company.