According to unconfirmed Japanese media reports, Toray Industries (Tokyo / Japan; www.toray.com) is planning to significantly raise its compounding capacity for polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) in Japan and China. The group said the additional output would go towards meeting growing demand from the E&E and automotive sector, especially in China.

Subsidiary Toray Plastics (Shenzhen) just commissioned a new compounding line in Shenzhen / China last year. The new plans now foresee the construction of another 1,500 t/y facility in Suzhou where Toray plans to mix grades with a low chlorine content, earmarked for marketing in eastern China. The new facility would raise Toray’s compounding capacities in China to 9,000-10,000 t/y. At the same time, the Japanese group plans to install another 3,000 t/y compounding unit at its plant in Nagoya / Japan.

Toray manufactures the PPS base polymer in Tokai / Japan, where just last year it carried out a capacity expansion, raising output from 11,500 t/y to 14,000 t/y. The line is reportedly already running at full-throttle again, which is why Toray is mulling yet another capacity expansion.