Teijin to set up compounding/R&D facility in Thailand

Japan’s Teijin Limited will establish a resin compound plant and a related R&D facility at Teijin Corporation (Thailand) Limited in Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate, Ayutthaya, Thailand.

The 10,000-tonne/year plant will be built at a cost of around US$13 million and is expected to begin operating in mid-2019. The site for the plant, including offices and the R&D facility, will measure 6,000 sq m.

Teijin says the new plant and R&D facility will give it a framework for responding faster to demands in the ASEAN region. Also, the new R&D facility will become Teijin’s third resin-related R&D hub in Asia, following the Plastics Technical Centre, Teijin’s compound-development facility in Chiba, Japan, and Teijin Chemicals Plastic Compounds Shanghai Ltd. in China. Going forward, Teijin says it will consider expanding the new facility depending on further growth in demand.

In addition, Teijin is building up its polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) compounds business by leveraging proprietary PPS resin technologies of Initz Co., a joint venture between Teijin and South Korean firm SK Chemicals. The initiative is strengthening Teijin’s response to diversified global demands, including in the automotive and electronics fields.

European and American electronics manufacturers and Japanese automakers are accelerating their investments in the ASEAN region, where continued economic and population growth are forecast. Economic development is stimulating the demand for high-performance resin products, so needs for resin compounds are expected to expand.

Teijin aims to continue growing its resin compounds business in the Chinese and ASEAN markets. Currently, the company is meeting demands in these markets through its compound production and technology sites in Japan and China, and subcontractor factories in the ASEAN region.

In Thailand, the strategic hub of the Teijin Group’s polyester-fibre global production for more than 50 years, a wholly owned subsidiary was set up in Bangkok in September 2013 to handle sales of resin products. Once the newly announced compound plant is completed, Teijin says it looks forward to promptly responding to diversified demands with high-quality products, backed by the new R&D facility’s role in providing local customers with technical support.

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