Toray Industries (Tokyo / Japan; www.toray.com) has started up a new plastic compounding plant for polyamide and PBT in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh / India. The company said the plant should reach its full operating capacity of around 5,000 t/y “in the near future,” and will supply India and Southeast Asia as well as other markets around the world – see Plasteurope.com of 17.07.2019. Key applications for the compounds include components for the automotive and E&E sectors.

With the Indian economy set to expand by about 6% annually from 2019 through 2030, the investment will take advantage of strong potential demand for the compounds, Toray said. “Demand should grow for engineering plastics as rising incomes drive demand for luxury and high-value-added goods, among them automobiles and appliances.”

Toray also plans to produce polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) at the Sri City facility and set up a technical centre to serve a rising local need for high-performance products and materials. “Identifying Indian requirements in product development will equip Toray to cater more responsively to increasingly complex customer requirements amid tightening environmental regulations,” the company said.