Lanxess AG has started up operations at a new plant in Changshu, China, for the production of high-performance plastics. The plant will be used to manufacture the company’s Durethan and Pocan brands of high-performance plastics for use in the automotive, electrical and electronics sectors. The new plant specializes in intelligent manufacturing. As part of this, it has been designed with...
Materials
Denka Decides to Continue Acetylene Black Production at Omuta Plant Amid Rising LiB Demand
Denka Co. Ltd. (TYO:4061) recently announced that it has decided to continue production for certain grades of acetylene black at its Omuta Plant in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture. The company previously announced on Nov. 8, 2017, that it intended to stop production of calcium carbide-based products at its Omuta Plant. This included plans to halt the plant’s production of acetylene black...
Bridgestone Touts Susym as New Polymer That Joins Rubber, Resin at Molecular Level
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) announced on Oct. 16 that it has decided on the name Susym for a new polymer that combines rubber with resin at a molecular level. The name comes from the words “sustain,” “symphony” and “symbiosis,” and represents high hopes for the material as Bridgestone aims to spread the word about its new development. This follows a previous...
Zeon to Bolster Cycloolefin Polymer Production
Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) has decided to boost cycloolefin polymer (COP) production capacity at its Mizushima Plant in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. The move comes as an effort to respond to rising demand for optical film. Through this project, Zeon intends to increase its production capacity for this highly transparent thermoplastic resin from a current level of 37,000 tons per year up...
Kuraray Adopts Rehiring System for Former Employees
Chemical manufacturer Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) launched a new system on Sept. 20 to offer re-employment opportunities to those who have left the company. Kuraray also introduced a social networking system (SNS) that enables the exchange of information with former career track employees to exchange information to help them get back up to speed with work. When an employee wishes...
Denka Moves to Increase Singaporean Production of MS Resin
Denka Co. Ltd. (TYO:4061) recently announced that it will stop producing its Denka Styrol line of general-purpose polystyrene resin at consolidated subsidiary Denka Singapore Pvt. Ltd. (DSPL). By then carrying out facility remodeling, the company will use the location to instead bolster its production capacity for MS resin going forward. Approximately 2.7 billion yen ($25.02 million) will be invested to...