July 12, 2007
Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.

New Factory of SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD. Launched in Taiwan

- Expansion of productivity, product line-up and size of industrial piping materials with the goal of becoming world's top manufacturer -

The Environment Lifeline Company (President: Hideo Tagashira) of SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD. (President: Naotake Okubo) has ranked plant materials business as a "Growth Frontier" in line with the Midterm Management Vision "GS21 - Go! Frontier" and is planning positive business expansion through steps such as the acquisition in April this year of a U.S. manufacturer of ABS plastic sheets for molding.

Additionally, the new factory of SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD. in Taiwan (Director: Yasuo Yamabe), a subsidiary of Sekisui Chemical responsible for the manufacture and sales of piping materials and valves for industrial use went into operation in June. The global demand is growing against a background of increasing equipment investment in environmental fields such as advanced IT and water processing. The aim of launching the new factory is to become the world's top manufacturer by achieving global expansion in the field of industrial piping materials and valves.

1. Market Background of Industrial Piping Materials and Valves

Characteristics of industrial piping materials and valves made from resin, such as resistance to chemicals and corrosion and facilitation of construction have led to the use of these materials in advanced IT fields such as ultra-pure water pipes, chemical and fluid waste disposal pipes in factories, pipes in facilities (such as aquariums and the fish cultivation industry), pipes for environmental processing facilities (such as waste water processing plants, water-purification plants and incineration facilities) as well as fire-extinguishing piping, and, compared to ordinary water pipes, high levels of functionality and performance are essential to such materials. Global economic development has resulted in a growing demand in industry for these types of product. In regions demonstrating high economic growth such as Asia as well as North and South America in particular, this demand continues to expand.

<Comments> Industrial piping materials have expanded to development of thick-walled products featuring resistance to chemicals and heat. The product range of valves has expanded to include types such as ball valves, diaphragm valves, butterfly valves, check valves, automatic valves and sensors made from materials such as unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (UPVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), polypropylene (PP) and Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).

2. Launch of New Factory means Expansion of Productivity for Industrial Piping Materials and Valves. Production of Raw Materials has also been launched.

To meet customer needs in line with the continually growing market for industrial piping materials and valves, SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD. has opened factory no. 2 alongside its existing factory no.1 (Ching 1st Rd. Wuchi Town, Taichung Prefecture) and launched full-scale operation in June with the goal both of expanding product types and sizes and improving product supply capacity. The new factory will not only manufacture industrial joints and large valves, but will effectively boost productivity threefold from present levels. In addition, production of new high-function, high-performance industrial pipes and CPVC raw materials (compound) will also be launched. A total of 1.6 billion yen has been invested in the new factory.

By establishment of the new factory, the company aims to achieve sales volume of 5 billion yen in 2010 and 10 billion yen in 2015.

3. About SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD.

1) History

March 2006
Rights of management of the Taiwanese resin valves and piping materials manufacturer "Sanideng Enterprise Co, Ltd." through transfer of 60% of outstanding shares and the company name changed to "SEKISUI SANIDENG CO, LTD."

May 2006
Land of approximately 30,000 m2 was acquired next to the factory and construction of a second factory commenced. Equipment such as large injection molding machines, pipe extruders, raw material compound devices and valve processing devices were introduced. Due to the increased capital resulting from this increased investment in equipment, shares held by Sekisui Chemical increased to 70%.

June 2007
The second factory went into full scale production and the company name changed from "SEKISUI SANIDENG CO, LTD." to "SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD." Sekisui Chemical bought shares to bring total number of shares held by the company to 90%.

2) SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD. Ranking

"Sanideng Enterprise Co, Ltd." was responsible for development of the world's first integral compact ball valve and for export of a full range of compact valves and joints to more than 30 countries throughout the world. Meanwhile, in addition to clean pipes made of material for ultra-pure water pipes for the field of IT, Sekisui Chemical was owner of top brands such as HT Pipes and FW pipes made of chemical-resistant material and had achieved a track record for widespread use of its products in growth throughout Asia.

SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD. will continue to supply high-quality industrial materials and piping at reasonable prices and aims at further global expansion in the field of industrial products.

(1)	Ranked as an overseas manufacturing base for industrial materials and pipes.
(2)	Aiming at expansion of global sales by use of existing sales routes and development of new channels.
(3)	The company is committed to meeting diverse market needs through outstanding production incorporating not only product design and manufacture of molding dies, but also product development, manufacturing technology and quality control to speedily produce a product line-up of high quality industrial materials and valves.

3) Corporate Profile

(1) Company Name
SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD.

(2) Description of Business
Manufacture, sales and export of resin valves, pipes and joints.

(3) Address of Head Office and Factory
No. 18 Ching 1st Rd. Chung Kang Export Processing Zone, Wuchi Town, Taichung Prefecture, Taiwan, R. O. C.

(4) Capital
456 million Taiwan dollars (approximately 1.6 billion yen)

(5) Investment Ratios
Sekisui Chemical: 90%, Wong Lai Jin: 10%

(6) Executives
Director: Yasuo Yamabe (Director, Sekisui Chemical, Development Supervisor and Plant Materials Business Division Manager, Environment Lifeline Company)
Director: Yoshiki Deguchi, Wong Lai Jin

(7) Employees: approximately 180

4. About Plant Materials Business of Environment Lifeline Company

The plant materials business of the Environment Lifeline Company is comprised of two main areas: Industrial materials and valves for plants and plastic sheets for molding.

1) Industrial Materials and Valves for Plants

(1) Products Handled
Industrial materials, joints and valves, anti-static transparent sheets, wafer transport containers, CPVC resin

(2) Manufacturing Bases

• Sekisui Chemical Environment Lifeline Company, Tokyo Factory (Asaka-shi, Saitama Prefecture)
• Sekisui Chemical Environment Lifeline Company, Shiga Ritto Factory (Ritto-shi, Shiga Prefecture)
• SEKISUI INDUSTRIAL PIPING CO., LTD. (Taichung, Taiwan)

2) Plastic Sheets for Molding (for Vacuum Molding)

(1) Products Handled
Acryl denatured vinyl chloride sheets, ABS/PC sheets

(2) Manufacturing Bases

• Kleerdex Company, LLC. (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
• Allen Extruders, LLC. (Michigan, U.S.A)

3) Scale of Business
Sales volume for all brand materials business for FY2006 was approximately was 20 billion yen, target for FY2007: 25 billion yen.

(Reference) Photos of plan material products

Examples of Industrial Materials and Valves


Examples of Use of Plastic Sheets for Molding