About five months later than originally scheduled, Mitsui Chemicals (Tokyo / Japan; www.mitsuichem.com) in March started up its 11,000 t/y functional polymeric materials plant in Shanghai / China. The company first set up its Mitsui Chemicals Functional Composites subsidiary in October 2012, with start-up originally expected to commence in October last year (see Plasteurope.com of 10.09.2012).

The facility will produce Mitsui’s “Milastomer” olefinic elastomers and “Admer” adhesive resins to be sold to manufacturers in eastern China, with a specific focus on the automotive and packaging markets. The Japanese company said the start-up underpins its “aggressive efforts to strengthen and expand its functional polymeric compound business.”

Milastomer is used mostly in the automotive industry, but also in the civil engineering, construction and sporting goods industries. Admer is designed to bond to a range of polyolefins, ionomers, polyamides and gas barrier resins, making it particularly suitable for use in automotive fuel tanks and packaging, Mitsui said.