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November 27, 2007
Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
Full-scale Launch of New Fiber-reinforced Foamed Urethane Plant in Shanghai, China
The Urban Infrastructure and Environmental Products Company (Company President: Yoshiyuki Takitani) of Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. (President and Representative Director: Naotake Okubo) is pleased to announce the full-scale launch of operations at the new plant for the production and processing of fiber-reinforced foamed urethane (FFU), which is a continuous glass fiber reinforced plastics foam and an original Sekisui Chemical product on November 1. It is expected that FFU produced at the plant will mainly be used in FFU synthetic sleepers on railway tracks mainly in the eastern and southern regions of China.
The plant is operated by the Xinjiang Yongchang-Sekisui Composites Co., Ltd., a Sekisui Chemical subsidiary engaged in the manufacture and sale of reinforced plastic pipes in China.
1. Background and Aims of the Establishment of New FFU Plant
China is currently experiencing high economic growth, and this has given rise to the need for the expansion of domestic transportation capabilities leading to high-paced railway construction. Construction of approximately 10,000 km of railway within China by the year 2010 is currently being planned and in cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou in particular, many large scale projects are underway including subway and high-speed railway construction. In the past, FFU synthetic sleepers for Subway Line 4 in Guangzhou and for the Super Express (Shinkansen) in Taiwan were imported from Japan and test use on Subway Line 8 in Shanghai has also been completed. A continuing high level of demand in China for FFU synthetic sleepers is expected, and the new FFU plant has been established to meet this demand.
2. Name and Features of "FFU"
The name "FFU" is the acronym for "Fiber reinforced Foamed Urethane." FFU is a light corrosive-resistant structural material formed of hard urethane resin foam reinforced with continuous glass fiber and features the following characteristics.
3. Principal Applications of "FFU" and Expanded Applications in China
1) Applications Utilizing the characteristics outlined in 2 above, FFU has been widely used in areas such as water and sewerage systems, civil engineering, construction, plant facilities, aquaculture and railways since FFU was developed in 1974. The past few years in particular, have seen an increasing global demand for FFU synthetic sleepers. 2) Applications in the Railway Industry FFU synthetic sleepers are used on bridges and railway junctions where wooden sleepers were previously used, contributing to the conservation of forest resources. The reason for usage on bridges is that FFU is light and easy to work with. Additionally, its long lifespan compared to wooden materials means a reduction in the frequency of work on bridges where construction is difficult. Their high degree of durability and ease of adjustments at work sites comprise essential elements at junctions in the maintenance of high-precision tracks for high-speed travel and FFU synthetic sleepers are used by almost all the main railway companies in Japan (JR, private railways, subways) including the Super Express, with applications overseas on the increase. 3) Expanded Applications in China As mentioned above, while FFU is currently used in China principally in railway sleepers, demand for FFU is anticipated in the fields of water processing and civil engineering.
4. Concerning the New Plant
5. Completion Ceremony
FA completion ceremony was held on November 18 to mark the full-scale launch of operations at the new FFU plant.
(Reference)
Concerning Xinjiang Yongchang-Sekisui Composites Co., Ltd. 1. Concerning Xinjiang Yongchang-Sekisui Composites Co., Ltd.
Sekisui Chemical invested in Xinjiang Yongchang Composites Co., Ltd. (current investment: 62.4%) in April 2005 and subsequently made inroads into the water environment infrastructure market for products including reinforced compound plastic pipes in China.
Currently, the company has 4 production bases of reinforced compound plastics pipes located in Miquan and Ili in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, where the head office is located, as well as Guangzhou and Shanghai. In particular, in regions of eastern China such as Shanghai, the outlook is for an increase in orders and this led to the transfer and expansion of the Shanghai branch as the production and sales base in the region in November last year. Additionally, with the Shanghai branch as base, efforts are underway to acquire competent human resources in the coastal region and to work with design institute and, as mentioned above, production of FFU has been launched from this month.
2. Concerning Xinjiang Yongchang-Sekisui Composites Shanghai Branch
3. Concerning Reinforced Compound Plastic Pipes
Reinforced compound plastic pipes are constructed of glass fiber, unsaturated polyester resin and silica sand. The high degree of strength of glass fiber gives the material superb strength and flexibility capable of handling a maximum diameter of 4 m. Additionally, reinforced compound plastic pipes demonstrate excellent resistance to earthquakes, chemicals as well as outstanding hydraulic characteristics and are widely used not only in sewage systems, but also in airport construction, rain water pipe systems in housing developments and public irrigation pipelines.
Sekisui Chemical has been selling reinforced compound plastic pipes under the "Eslon RCP" product name in Japan since 1975.
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