Kuraray to establish butadiene derivatives JV in Thailand

Tokyo – Kuraray Co. Ltd, PTT Global Chemical PCL and Sumitomo Corp. are to invest in a project for the manufacture of butadiene derivatives – including thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) – in Thailand.

The project will be operated by a joint venture called Kuraray GC Advanced Materials Co. Ltd, said a 27 Dec statement from Kuraray, which will have a 53.3% stake in the JV via an intermediate holding company.

As ERJ reported last June, Bangkok-based PTT Global Chemical will have a 33.4% stake in the venture.

Sumitomo Corp. of Tokyo will own the remaining 13.3%, again through an intermediate holding company.

Headquartered in Bangkok, Kuraray GC Advanced Materials was established in June 2018 and has registered capital of Bhat5.6 billion (around €152 million).

The JV will establish capacities of 16,000 tonnes/year (t/yr) for TPEs based on hydrogenated stryenic block copolymers, and 13,000 t/yr for polyamide 9T at Map Ta Phut, Rayong province.

In addition, Kuraray said it will by itself construct a 5,000 t/yr plant for the production of 5KTA 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol (MPD) adjacent to the JV plant.

Construction work on the facilities is expected to be completed by around the end of 2021.

Kuraray said it will invest Yen40 billion (around €320 million) in the three production projects overall.