A number of companies in China look set to establish new domestic facilities for paraxylene (PX) production. This comes as China, the world’s largest producer of polyester, makes rapid progress...
Materials
Toyobo Looks to Open New TPC Polymerization Center in Thailand
Toyobo Co. Ltd. (TYO:3101) is planning to boost its polymerization capacity for thermoplastic copolyester elastomers (TPCs). This is seeing the company look to raise its capacity by approximately 20 percent...
Asahi Kasei Considers Production Increase for Lead–Acid Battery Separators in Asia
Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) is looking to significantly increase its production for lead–acid battery separators. While the company is already moving to increase its separator supply in the U.S., consideration...
Unitika Targets Expansion for Resin Business
Unitika Ltd. (TYO:3103) is looking to expand its business for resins, with plans to establish new mass production facilities for its Xecot line of polyamide 10T resin by fiscal 2020....
Dow Chemical Recycles Plastic Waste Into Road Asphalt
Amid mounting concern over the environmental problems posed by plastic waste, Dow Chemical Co. is working to develop ways of using this waste in the construction of asphalt roads. This...
Teijin Works to Expand Business for CFRTP Auto Parts
Teijin Ltd. (TYO:3401) is making a range of new efforts for molded products made of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) with a thermoplastic resin matrix. This is seeing the company...
Futamura Targets Growth, Environmental Measures for Cellulose Film Business
Futamura Chemical Co. Ltd. President Yasuo Nagae has revealed to The Chemical Daily a range of plans for expanding his company’s cellulose business. The company holds a worldwide market share...
Asahi Kasei Targets Major Production Increases for LiB Separators
Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) is moving forward with efforts to significantly boost its production capacity for lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) separators in Japan. This comes as electric vehicles (EVs), which...
Kaneka Pursues Food Packaging Approval for Biodegradable Plastic in Japan, Europe
Kaneka Corp. (TYO:4118) is looking toward a full-scale rollout of its biodegradable plastic in food packaging applications. The company here is making efforts in Japan and the EU, where it...
Nihon Plast Develops Molding Technology for Thinner Urethane Auto Interiors
Nihon Plast Co. Ltd. (TYO:7291) has developed a new urethane reaction injection molding (RIM) technology. Called NEO-NPSS, it promises to allow for drastically thinner automotive interior components. Compared to existing...
Toray Develops Tough Yet Flexible CFRP
Toray Industries Inc. (TYO:3402) announced on Sept. 28 that it has completed development for a flexible, tough new polymer. Work on this has seen the company create a gyrating polymer...
Japan’s Environment Ministry Moves to Support Recycling of Composite Plastics
The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) is setting out to support the development of recycling technologies and processes for plastics that currently see little in the way of recycling efforts....
Spread of Composting in West Presents Opportunity for Japan’s Biodegradable Packaging Makers
The West’s growing shift to using biodegradable plant-derived resins in packaging material may well prove to be the decisive factor in breaking open Japan’s mature packaging material industry. Exports to...
Toray Speeds up Development Efforts for Thinner LiB Separators
Toray Industries Inc. (TYO:3402) is speeding up its implementation of a strategy to add value to the separator films it produces for automotive lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). Currently, Toray has the...
Shima Trading, Maikon no Kohara Develop Edible Film and Coating for Food Products
Shima Trading Co. Ltd. and Osaka-based food retailer Maikon no Kohara Corp. have responded to mounting public concerns over microplastic pollution by coming together to develop a new line of...
Chuo Kagaku to Focus on Expanding Use of Recycled PET Containers
Chuo Kagaku Co. Ltd. (TYO:7895) plans to expand its use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in food containers to reduce the burden on the environment. The company has sought to...
Mitsui Chemicals Pursues US Production for LGFPP
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) announced on Sept. 18 that it intends to set up a new facility for long glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (LGFPP) at a U.S. production base for...
Chinese Trend Toward Multi-Camera Smartphones Means Major Opportunity for Japanese Chemical Companies
Mid-tier Chinese smartphones have been sweeping through the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, with high-end models too now finding rapid expansion here. And with such Chinese devices flocking together with...
Mitsui Chemicals Looks to Expand Business for Nonwovens
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) is moving to expand its operations for nonwoven fabrics. This goal comes as the company’s nonwovens business is enjoying growth in high-performance sanitary material applications, mostly...
Domo Chemicals Eyes Increased Polyamide Compound Production in Asia, North America
Domo Chemicals GmbH is looking to strengthen its business structure for polyamide compounds in Asia and North America. Efforts here recently led the German-based company, which supplies various grades of...
