PPS MARKET
Japanese PPS producer DIC to build first compounding plant in China / Total capacity rises to 40,000 t/y
Japan’s DIC Corporation (Tokyo; www.dic-global.com) has announced plans to build its first compounding plant for polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) at Zhangjiagang in China’s Jiangsu Province. The 6,000 t/y plant being built at a total cost of RMB 77.3m (EUR 9.2m) will be operated by the Japanese company’s wholly owned subsidiary DIC Zhangjiagang Chemicals. Construction is set to begin as soon as official building permits are secured, with start-up expected in 2015. An operating rate exceeding 60% is targeted for the end of 2016, the first full year on stream.
The new capacity in China is part of the company’s broad expansion thrust for PPS compounds. It will lift its total output capability to around 40,000 t/y. Farther into the future, DIC said it expects its share of the Chinese PPS compounding market to increase from currently 20%, to more than 35%, further reinforcing its leading global position. With global demand for PPS compounds continuing to grow at 6-8% annually, demand growth in the People’s Republic – now world’s largest automotive market – is “well above 10%,” DIC said.
The Japanese player currently has three production bases for PPS compounds, in Komaki / Japan, Penang / Malaysia and Vienna / Austria. In 2011, it expanded Malaysia capacity from 1,500 t/y to 4,500 t/, adding 6,000 t/y of new Austrian capability a year later. DIC’s new compounding facility at Zhangjiagang, for which base polymer will be imported from Japan, will use the same state-of-the-art production control system in place in Austria – see Plasteurope.com of 25.03.2013. This, the company said, enables integrated computerised control of production lines and monitoring processes, helping to improve the safety and precision, as well as increasing efficiency and yield rates. DIC is also opening a new technical centre in Shanghai to reinforce sales and service.
As another sure sign that the PPS market is growing strongly in China, Japanese plastics powerhouse Toray (Tokyo; www.toray.com) also recently announced plans to expand compounding in the People’s Republic, while the expansion plans of home-grown Lumena (Chengdu, Sichuan; www.lumena.hk) appear to have hit a wall – see Plasteurope.com of 11.07.2014.
The new capacity in China is part of the company’s broad expansion thrust for PPS compounds. It will lift its total output capability to around 40,000 t/y. Farther into the future, DIC said it expects its share of the Chinese PPS compounding market to increase from currently 20%, to more than 35%, further reinforcing its leading global position. With global demand for PPS compounds continuing to grow at 6-8% annually, demand growth in the People’s Republic – now world’s largest automotive market – is “well above 10%,” DIC said.
The Japanese player currently has three production bases for PPS compounds, in Komaki / Japan, Penang / Malaysia and Vienna / Austria. In 2011, it expanded Malaysia capacity from 1,500 t/y to 4,500 t/, adding 6,000 t/y of new Austrian capability a year later. DIC’s new compounding facility at Zhangjiagang, for which base polymer will be imported from Japan, will use the same state-of-the-art production control system in place in Austria – see Plasteurope.com of 25.03.2013. This, the company said, enables integrated computerised control of production lines and monitoring processes, helping to improve the safety and precision, as well as increasing efficiency and yield rates. DIC is also opening a new technical centre in Shanghai to reinforce sales and service.
As another sure sign that the PPS market is growing strongly in China, Japanese plastics powerhouse Toray (Tokyo; www.toray.com) also recently announced plans to expand compounding in the People’s Republic, while the expansion plans of home-grown Lumena (Chengdu, Sichuan; www.lumena.hk) appear to have hit a wall – see Plasteurope.com of 11.07.2014.
17.07.2014 Plasteurope.com [228732-0]
Published on 17.07.2014
German version of this article...