Japan’s Riken Technos Corporation (Tokyo; www.rikentechnos.co.jp) plans to build a new PVC compounding facility on the western part of Indonesia’s Java island. The company has already acquired the relevant lands for the USD 13m plant, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with commissioning scheduled for 2013. The facility is to be operated by local subsidiary PT Riken Indonesia, and will focus on turning out compounds for medicinal applications. The plans constitute a clear expansion of Riken Technos’ compounding activities, following its 2010 takeover of Zeon Kasei’s PVC compounds business.

In financial 2010/2011 (ended 31 March), Riken Technos generated sales of JPY 46.8 bn – about EUR 470m – which was tantamount to a 16% year-on-year increase. Revenues were split among the group’s three core businesses – compounding (PVC and TPE), calendering of PVC and PET films as well as the manufacture of polyolefin and PVC film for food packaging applications. Riken Technos operates more than 20 global subsidiaries, including Riken Technos Europe (Amsterdam / The Netherlands) and Riken Elastomers (Hopkinsville, Kentucky / USA), which produces TPE compounds for automotive applications.

Group management already said that given the strong yen, it does not expect to meet its sales target for 2012/2013. Another mitigating factor were last year’s floods in Thailand – unconfirmed reports suggest that Riken Technos’ plant in Bangkok has only recently commenced start-up operations. As a result, at the turn of the new year, the Japanese group lowered its revenue estimates from EUR 770m to EUR 736m. The operative result is expected to drop from EUR 35m to EUR 18.5m, while net earnings have been scaled back from EUR 22m to EUR 19m.