MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei Chemicals will increase annual production capacity for hydrogenated styrenic thermoplastic elastomer (SEBS) by 30% at its Kawasaki Works in Kanagawa, Japan, with start-up scheduled for June 2016, said the producer in its press release.
The expansion of performance polymer operations is a key element in the strategy of Asahi Kasei Chemicals to develop as a high-earnings chemical company. The company’s synthetic rubber and elastomer business is positioned as a competitively superior area, with proactive expansion focused on high-function and high-value added products. In particular, Tuftec and S.O.E. SEBS are high-performance and high-value added elastomers featuring excellent weatherability, heat resistance, and anti-abrasion properties made possible by the original catalyst and polymerization process technologies of Asahi Kasei Chemicals. They are used in a wide range of applications including plastic modification and adhesives, earning high regard from customers around the world.
SEBS is used as a modifier that enables polypropylene to be made flexible while maintaining transparency, and there are growing needs for flexible material as a substitute for polyvinyl chloride, especially in medical applications. Demand growth for this particular application has been centered in Europe and China in recent years. To meet growing demand, Asahi Kasei Chemicals increased production capacity for SEBS at its Kawasaki Works by 20% this spring. As continued demand growth is forecasted, the company decided to further increase production capacity by 30%.
By enhancing its production infrastructure through these capacity increases, Asahi Kasei Chemicals will reinforce its ability to provide customers with a swift and reliable supply even as the market for polyvinyl chloride substitute materials continues to expand. The company will continue to enhance its supply system while further heightening product quality to ensure that diversifying customer needs are met.
As MRC informed earlier, Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd., a medical device company, has formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Kuraray Medical Inc., a provider of dental bonding agents, dental cements, composite resins, and related material, for the production of hollow-fiber membrane for use in medical devices, using Eval ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) from Kuraray Co.
Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical Co.,Ltd. engages in the research and development, production, and sale of medical equipment in the fields of hemodialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion therapy, and virus removal for biotherapeutic products in Japan and internationally. The company offers devices for the treatment of immunologic or intractable diseases, leukocyte reduction filters to prevent adverse effects associated with blood transfusion, and virus removal filters used in biopharmaceutical production.
MRC