Expansions: Greene Tweed expands reach with facility in South Korea; Zeon to construct new production plant for COPs in Japan

Manufacturer of thermoplastics, composites and seals, Greene Tweed has announced the completion of its new manufacturing facility in Ochang, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. The milestone marks a significant expansion of Greene Tweed's global footprint and reinforces its commitment to delivering products with its flagship Chemraz product line.

With construction now complete, the new facility is poised to commence sample production immediately and transition to commercial production by September 2024. The plant is equipped with advanced manufacturing technology as well as solar panels and greywater recycling facilities to mitigate environmental impact, and skilled staff are in place, ready to drive operations forward.

The new Greene Tweed location underscores the company’s dedication to supporting clients based in Korea and the surrounding region, including notable semiconductor industry leaders. With the semiconductor market expected to be valued at US$1 trillion by 2030, Greene Tweed says it is well-positioned to meet local and global demand. By increasing its manufacturing presence in Asia, the company expects to improve delivery times, enhance business continuity, and offer greater flexibility and reliability for customers worldwide.

"The opening of this facility represents a pivotal step in our strategic growth plan," said Magen Buterbaugh, President/CEO of Greene Tweed. "Our investment in Korea not only expands our manufacturing capacity but also strengthens our ability to provide high-quality Chemraz products to our customers, particularly in the semiconductor industry, which is crucial to the global economy."

"Greene Tweed’s new manufacturing site in Korea is a testament to our ongoing commitment to innovation and operational excellence," said Thyag Sadasiwan, General Manager, Chemraz.

In other news, Japan’s Zeon Corporation is to construct a new production plant in Japan for cyclo olefin polymers (COP), specialty plastics that constitute Zeon’s key product. The decision was made in line with Zeon’s medium-term business plan. The new plant will boost combined annual production capacity for COP to approximately 54,000 tonnes, including the existing COP annual capacity of approximately 42,000 tonnes at the Mizushima plant. Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2025 and completion of construction in 2028. The plant will have a total investment amount of approximately 70 billion yen.

Zeon says it had been studying ways to enhance resilience by diversifying the location of its COP production sites. The company selected Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, from a list of candidate sites in Japan and overseas, and it has acquired a business site for constructing a new plant.

The COP business has been positioned as a growth area that requires a focused effort to polish up and explore new business opportunities. Demand for COP is expected to remain strong due to such properties as excellent optical stability, low water absorbency, and extremely low impurity. In addition to its use in optical films and optical lenses, COP is increasingly being adopted for medical and semiconductor applications, and this latest decision to expand production capacity was made in anticipation of further growth in demand in the years to come.

In selecting the site for the new plant, Zeon looked outside Okayama Prefecture from the perspective of its business continuity plan, ultimately settling on the Shunan Industrial Complex for its convenient proximity to the Mizushima plant and being close to the Tokuyama plant, also located in Shunan City.

Zeon is considering the construction of additional plants for highly profitable products on the newly acquired business site, and plans to significantly update the product portfolio of the Tokuyama plant, which currently consists mainly of general-purpose products, and also shift resources, including operating personnel, to the production of highly profitable products.

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