After legal issues had forced a postponement from 1 April to 1 July (see Plasteurope.com of 26.03.2015), Mitsui Chemicals (Tokyo / Japan; www.mitsuichem.com) and SKC (Seoul / South Korea; www.skc.kr/english) have now finally launched their polyurethane joint venture, Mitsui Chemicals & SKC Polyurethanes. Based in Seoul, the jv will be managed by CEO Won Gi-don, who currently heads SKC’s Chemicals division, and Ishimaru Hiroyaso, currently in charge of Urethanes at Mitsui.

Mitsui Chemicals & SKC Polyurethanes has an annual production capacity of 720,000 t/y – including TDI, MDI and polyols at sites in both Japan and South Korea – and plans to achieve sales of USD 1.5 bn this year. That figure is expected to rise to USD 2 bn by 2020.