Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) will ramp up production in Malaysia of adhesives for food packaging and other uses. Annual production capacity will increase approximately 70 percent to 35,000 tons. Construction will wrap up next month and operations are slated to commence in September. The move is in response to growing demand in Southeast Asia for...
Mitsui Chemicals
Mitsui Chemicals Prepares for Global Launch of Dental 3D Printer
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) this month will begin global sales of a dental 3D printer. The new printer is capable of accurately producing dental technician materials at speeds six times higher than that of methods up to now. Mainly focusing on dental laboratories in the U.S. and Europe, Mitsui Chemicals is aiming initially to sell...
Mitsui Chemicals Aims to Boost UHMW-PE Production to Meet LiB Separator Demand
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) plans to ramp up production of its ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) Hi-Zex Million. Demand for the material’s use in lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) separators for electric vehicles (EVs) is surging. Consequently, the existing plant at the firm’s Iwakuni-Ohtake Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture is operating close to capacity. As well as...
Kyoto University Succeeds in Generating 1kW of Energy With Ammonia Fuel Cells
Kyoto University has successfully generated 1 kilowatt of electricity with fuel cells using ammonia directly as a fuel. By supplying ammonia directly to the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack, Kyoto University has achieved a similar level of power output as more generalized SOFCs. The suitability of ammonia as an SOFC fuel serves to demonstrate...
Mitsui Chemicals Robot Materials Chief Ishimaru Discusses Promising Developments
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) set up its Robot Materials Business Development Division in April last year. The firm plans to explore the possibilities for new business as the number of robots that interact with people grows. Specifically, Mitsui Chemicals aims to increase opportunities to offer materials and solutions that help to enhance robot functions and...
Japanese Chemical Giants to Leverage AI, Big Data for Joint Research Into Polymer Materials
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005), Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) plan to work with the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) on basic research into polymer materials. The four firms have agreed to contribute both basic research data on polyolefins and researchers in the hope of developing data...
Mitsui Kagaku Sanshi Promotes Plastic Biotope Products for Coastal, Riverbank Protection
Mitsui Kagaku Sanshi Co. Ltd. is promoting to the Japanese market plastic products that prevent erosion at costal areas and river banks. The company is showcasing Geotube, a polypropylene (PP) product for coastal areas, and Shelton, a polyolefin product for rivers. Both have low impact on the environment and promise to lead to reductions in...
Mitsui Chemicals Earmarks 350B Yen for Investments Through 2020
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) will be making investments worth 350 billion yen ($3.15 billion) over the three-year period running through March 2020. The designated sum is 2.2 times that spent by the company over the previous three-year period, and 65 percent of the total is being earmarked for growth areas. Mitsui Chemicals, focused on financial...
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...
Mitsui Chemicals Looks to Harness IoT in Plant Maintenance
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) is applying the Internet of Things (IoT) to the safe and stable operation of its chemical plants starting this fiscal year. The company sees advancements in information and communications technology (ICT) such as IoT, AI and big data analysis dramatically changing how chemical plants are run. It will begin tapping the...
Major Chemical Companies Achieve Soaring Profits on Back of Favorable Petrochemical Market – Part 2
As part of their financial results for the fiscal year ending in March 2017, each of the major Japanese chemical companies reported positive net profits. Due to favorable petrochemical market conditions, Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) in particular saw large profit margins. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. (TYO:4188) displayed strong sales of methyl...
Major Chemical Companies Achieve Soaring Profits on Back of Favorable Petrochemical Market – Part 1
Major Japanese chemical companies have released their financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2017, with each reporting an increase in net profit. Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) in particular saw large profit margins, as the companies rode favorable petrochemical market conditions. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. (TYO:4188) displayed strong sales of...
Mitsui Chemicals to Employ Rapid Prototyping for Auto Parts – Part 2
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) plans to employ a rapid prototyping method for the company’s automotive materials business. Utilizing computer-aided engineering (CAE), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and 3D printing technology, the method significantly improves test production speeds for automotive parts and materials. The method will be put into practice at Mitsui Chemicals’ Mobility Development Center, a facility...
Mitsui Chemicals to Employ Rapid Prototyping for Auto Parts – Part 1
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) plans to employ a rapid prototyping method for the company’s automotive materials business. Utilizing computer-aided engineering (CAE), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and 3D printing technology, the method will significantly speed up the company’s test production of automotive parts and materials. Mitsui Chemicals plans to put the method into practice at the Mobility...
Japanese Chemical Companies Invest in Extending Petrochemical Plant Life
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) are among a number of chemical companies planning to boost spending on repairs at ethylene facilities and other petrochemical plants. With no growth expected in the Japanese market, chemical companies are reluctant to commit to investing vast sums in replacing equipment. They therefore aim to extend the...
Mitsui Chemicals Develops Three Aspartic Acid-Derived Polymers
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) has developed three new polymers derived from aspartic acid, a type of amino acid. The three are temperature-responsive polymer, water-absorbent polymer and polymeric emulsifier. The company has started making pre-production samples, and is exploring the possibilities of a supply system that would include in-house production and OEM with an eye toward...
Digest: Chemical Price Hike Announcements for Week of April 10
A series of price hikes were announced by chemical companies during the week of April 10 – April 14. Unless noted otherwise, all price increases listed here are per kilogram. In methyl methacrylate (MMA), Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) raised prices by 20 yen from April 15, and Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) will raise prices by...
Toyota Boshoku, Mitsui Chemicals to Form Business Alliance for High Impact-Resistant Plastic
Toyota Boshoku Corp. (TYO:3116) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) announced on April 11 that they will form a business alliance for the commercialization of high impact-resistant plastic. Using patents owned by Toyota Boshoku, Mitsui Chemicals will start manufacturing and marketing the plastic from fiscal 2018. Toyota Boshoku is considering using high impact-resistant plastic in its...
Mitsui Chemicals to Produce Automotive Elastomer in India and the US
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) plans to boost overseas production of olefinic thermoplastic elastomer (TPO). Amid growing demand to use TPO in vehicle interiors and airbag covers, the company will begin production in India in 2017 and the U.S. in 2020. In the U.S., Mitsui Chemicals plans also to introduce new manufacturing technology for adding properties...
Mitsui Chemicals to Strengthen Petrochemical Business With 100 Billion Yen Investment
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) is planning to allocate 100 billion yen ($905.3 million) for capital investment in the petrochemical sector by fiscal 2025. For its ethylene facilities, the company will install storage tanks for raw material diversification to improve logistics. In the polyolefin realm, the company is eying the possibility of constructing factories in Japan...
