SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD. (President and Representative Director: Teiji Koge; hereinafter, “SEKISUI CHEMICAL”) will establish a polyolefin foam plant—our second site in Thailand—through THAI SEKISUI FOAM CO., LTD. (President: Rocco Romiti; hereinafter, “THAI SEKISUI FOAM”), our consolidated subsidiary in Thailand.
In recent years, due to the steady trend in construction demand in the Middle East and ASEAN countries, THAI SEKISUI FOAM has been increasing production of heat and sound insulation products for various types of pipes—used for air conditioning, heating/chilled water supply, and other uses—to meet this demand. As this demand is expected to continue increasing, approximately one billion yen was used to acquire land and buildings near the existing plant for the establishment of a second plant. The second plant is scheduled to commence operations in April 2018.
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Usage examples of heat insulation materials (product name: Thermobreak®) on pipes used for air conditioning and |
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(Scheduled) Summary of THAI SEKISUI FOAM Second Plant
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・Location: Chonburi, Thailand |
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・Scale: Lot area: 39,000 ㎡; factory and buildings area: 12,500 ㎡ |
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・Production capacity: 5 million ㎡/year |
Polyolefin Foam and the SEKISUI Foam Business
Polyolefin foam is a soft foam product that results from heating polyolefins (such as polyethylene and polypropylene). SEKISUI CHEMICAL is a pioneer that invented the world's first production method using irradiated crosslinking*1. We manufacture and sell various foam products centered mainly on crosslinked polyolefin foam, which is excellent in properties such as heat insulation, heat resistance, processability, and durability. We have the highest global share of the crosslinked polyolefin foam market*2.
The applications for our group’s foam products are extremely broad. Besides construction, they are used in various fields such as automobiles, home appliances and electronics like mobile devices. We adopt local production in regions of demand to promptly meet the needs of our customers, with 10 foam production plants all over the world. Currently, a second plant in China—mainly to manufacture products for automobile interiors—is under construction. It is scheduled to be completed and commence operations in the first half of FY2019.
*1 Crosslinking is the process of bonding molecules. *2 FY2016, based on SEKISUI CHEMICAL’s research.
Disclaimer
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements due to changes in global economic, business, competitive market and regulatory factors.