Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) is gearing up to bolster U.S. production of its Poval water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film. The Japanese chemical manufacturer has earmarked roughly 4 billion yen ($36.63 million) to expand an existing plant in Indiana, with plans to bring new operations online in the first half of 2018. The company made its...
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Nexco West Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Develop Non-Ferrous Material for Expressway Bridges
West Nippon Expressway Co. Ltd., commonly known as Nexco West Japan, and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. Ltd. (TYO:1821) recently developed Dura-Slab, an ultra high-strength slab made of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) rods and high-strength fiber-reinforced concrete. The product is designed for use in expressway bridges. Conventional slabs use rebar and prestressed concrete (PC) steel, which results...
Kuraray to Ramp up PMMA Production Capacity
Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) has announced that it will increase its production capacity of soft, rubber-containing polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Inquiries for the material have been growing, as it has the transparency of acrylic and a soft texture. In addition to its molding applications in fields such as home electronics, the material offers uses as film...
Chemical, Materials Firms Set to Exceed 1 Trillion Yen in Capital Investments for 2017
Investments in plant and equipment by major chemical and materials companies during fiscal 2017 are set to total 1.18 trillion yen ($10.62 billion), increasing 20 percent over the previous year’s total, which was less than 1 trillion yen. The wide margin of increase comes on top of levels of investment that were already high, owing...
Digest: Chemical Price Hike Announcements for Week of April 17
A series of price hikes were announced by chemical companies during the week of April 17 – April 21. Unless noted otherwise, all price increases listed here are per kilogram. In polypropylene glycol (PPG), Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. (TYO:5201) raised prices for PPG and polymer polyols (POP) by no less than 15 yen ($0.14) on...
Kuraray to Expand Sales in Asia of Interlayers for Super-Tough Laminated Glass
Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) is expanding sales of ionoplast interlayers for high-hardness laminated glass in Asia. Kuraray’s interlayers have earned a reputation for allowing design flexibility and transparency of glazing building materials, and sales have been growing in volume at a pace of at least 10 percent per year. With an increasing number of new...
Digest: Chemical Price Hike Announcements for Week of March 27
A series of price hikes were announced by chemical companies during the week of March 27 – March 31. Unless noted otherwise, all price increases listed here are per kilogram. Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) increased the price of all styrene-butadiene (SB) latex products by 70 yen or more from April 1. The company will also...
Kuraray Eyes Japanese Market With Water-Soluble Support Material for 3D Printing
Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) is entering the Japanese market for water-soluble support material for 3D printing with Mowiflex, which the company has so far been marketing in other countries for fused deposition modeling (FDM). Mowiflex can be easily dissolved in tap water and disposed of through normal wastewater systems with minimal environmental impact thanks to...
Digest: Chemical Price Hike Announcements for Week of March 6 – Part 2
A series of price hikes were announced by chemical companies during the week of March 6 – March 10. As with the first installment in this two-part special, unless noted otherwise, all price increases listed here are per kilogram. In polybutylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), on March 15, E.I. du Pont Nemours and...
Kuraray Develops Diffuser-Free Light Guide Panel for LED Illumination
Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) announced on March 6 that it has developed a light guide panel that combines the functions of a diffuser and light guide in a single panel, obviating the need for a separate diffuser panel. Kuraray’s own technology for product mastering makes it possible to effect diffusion and glare control within the...
Digest: Chemical Price Hike Announcements for Week of Feb. 13
A series of price hikes were announced by chemical companies during the week of Feb. 13 – Feb. 17. Unless noted otherwise, all price increases listed here are per kilogram. In chloroprene rubber, Showa Denko KK (TYO:4004) will raise prices by no less than 42 yen ($0.37) on March 1. In biaxially oriented polystyrene sheets,...
Digest: Chemical Price Hike Announcements for End of January – Part 2
A series of price hikes were announced by chemical companies during the week of Jan. 23–27. As with the first installment in this two-part special, unless noted otherwise, all price increases listed here are per kilogram and became effective on Feb. 1. In polyurethane materials, Mitsui Chemicals & SKC Polyurethanes Inc. raised prices of polypropylene...
Kuraray Chemical Produces Molecular Sieving Carbon from Mineral Coal
Kuraray Chemical Co. Ltd. has established a technology for manufacturing molecular sieving carbon (MSC) from mineral coal. Kuraray Chemical has introduced one production line into its Ningbo base, China, and is moving ahead with sampling. With the project, the company plans to expand its Chinese operations. MSC is an adsorbent used in devices that separate...
Kuraray to Partner with Sumitomo, PTTGC on Butadiene Derivatives in Thailand
Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) and Sumitomo Corp. (TYO:8053) announced on Sept. 13 that they have entered into discussions with Thai petrochemical giant PTT Global Chemical Co. Ltd. (PTTGC) regarding a potential business collaboration in Thailand on high-performance butadiene-derived resins and elastomers. The three firms have concluded a heads of agreement (HOA) on the front-end engineering...
Kuraray Works to Develop PVA Reuse System in India
Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) is developing in India a mechanism by which to reuse polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), an adhesive that is used in textile weaving processes for its efficacy in bringing thread fluffing under control. With an aim to recover and reuse more than 80 percent of used PVA, the mechanism is an attempt to...
Kuraray Expands Into Bio-based Renewable Packaging in Japan
Kuraray Ltd. (TYO:3405) is making a full-fledged effort to explore the market for bio-based barrier materials for food packaging and other applications. The barrier materials feature a multilayer structure comprising a distinctive base layer component made mainly of cornstarch, which is laminated on both sides with polyethylene (PE) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. Having earned the...
