Expansion of Automotive Use Polypropylene Production in North America
July 11, 2011
Mitsui Chemicals,Inc.
Prime Polymer Co., Ltd.
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Toshikazu Tanaka, President & CEO) and Prime Polymer Co., Ltd. (Yasuhiko Ohtawa, President) announced a 27,000 ton production augmentation of polypropylene at United States and Mexico production facilities to meet growing demands of the automotive materials sector.
Outline of Expansion
| Region | Name | Production Capacity(t/y) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Now | Increase | Post-Augmentation | ||
| U.S.A | Advanced Composites Inc. | 212,000 | 14,000 | 226,000 |
| Mexico | Advanced Composites Mexicana S.A DE C.V. | 32,000 | 13,000 | 45,000 |
| Total | 244,000 | 27,000 | 271,000 | |
Advanced Composites
・14,000 ton increase in production from new line (tentative commercial operation 1Q 2012)
Advanced Composites Mexicana
・13,000 ton increase in production from new line (tentative commercial operation 2Q 2012)
As a fundamental strategy of the 2011 Mid-Term Business Plan, the Mitsui Chemicals Group targets further global expansion of its polypropylene for automotive materials operations. The Group already boasts world-class competitiveness in this material which operations are chiefly overseen by its subsidiary, Prime Polymer.
Demand for automotive materials, which took a downward swing in late 2008 as a result of the global recession, has recently regained momentum in not only emerging markets such as China and India, but also in North America.
The Mitsui Chemicals Group has targeted intensification and expansion of polypropylene production in major world markets (Japan, United States, Europe, Thailand, China, and India). The current production augmentation in the United States and Mexico will reinforce the Company’s already world top class production capability for automotive material use polypropylene.
Mitsui Chemicals and Prime Polymer will strategically intensify and expand operations through ongoing collaboration and reinforcement of production, sales, and technological support structures necessary in providing state-of-the-art, performance-driven materials to meet the needs of globally expanding automotive manufacturers.
Attachment
Strategic Sites of Advanced Composites
1. Overview of Advanced Composites, Inc.
- (1) Established: June 1986
- (2) Capital: US$14.1 million
- (3) Equity interest: Mitsui Chemicals America, Inc. (59.8%),
Prime Polymer Co., Ltd. (3.0%), and others (37.2%) - (4) Head Office: Ohio, U.S.A.
- (5) Production Facilities: Ohio and Tennessee
2. Overview of Advanced Composites Mexicana S.A. DE C.V.
- (1) Established: February 1994
- (2) Capital: US$2.6 million
- (3) Equity interest: Advanced Composites, Inc. (100%)
- (4) Head Office & Production Facilities: Aguascalientes, Mexico
Attachment
Expansion of Automotive Use Polypropylene Production in North America (PDF:226KB)
