In order to meet rising Asian demand for long glass fibre-reinforced thermoplastic resins, JNC Corporation (Tokyo / Japan; www.jnc-corp.co.jp) in late 2011 announced the establishment of a 100% group subsidiary, JNC Polyfine Asia (Changshu, Jiangsu / China), for the manufacture of its proprietary “Funcster” GF reinforced thermoplastic resins. The new plant, in which JNC is investing some USD 5m, is scheduled to begin operations in September this year, with a nameplate capacity of 7,000 t/y.

Funcster long fibre PP-compounds display high rigidity and impact resistance, making them a particularly suitable subsitute to metal in automotive construction.

Once onstream, the new Changshu plant will join JNC’s existing Funcster capacities in Ichihara, Chiba / Japan – where the group can turn out 15,000 t/y – and Covington, Georgia / USA, a site with a nameplate capacity of 10,000 t/y.