Japan Butyl adds capacity to butyl unit

ERJ staff report (DS)

kawasaki, Japan -- Japan Butyl Co. Ltd. has completed an expansion to its butyl rubber production capacity at the plant in Kawasaki, Japan. The expansion adds 18,000 tons per year of capacity bringing the plant's total capacity to 98,000 tons per year.

Japan Butyl Co., Ltd., a butyl rubber manufacturing company, is a joint venture of ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha and JSR Kabushiki Kaisha. The company serves as a supply base for butyl rubber primarily in Asia. ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha holds a 50 percent stake in Japan Butyl Co., Ltd.

Proprietary technology allows the butyl polymerisation reaction, which normally occurs at -95°C, to operate at -75°C. This creates significant energy and capital investment savings.

“These advancements are part of ExxonMobil Chemical's longstanding commitment to serve the growing butyl market," said John Lyon, vice president, Global Butyl Polymers Business Unit, ExxonMobil Chemical Company.

Continuing to address the growth needs of the butyl rubber industry, the Japan Butyl Co. Ltd. expansion is the latest of several recent company expansions to serve the growing butyl market. In 2008, ExxonMobil expanded halobutyl capacity at its Baytown, Texas plant by 60 percent. This was preceded by the 2006 expansion of Japan Butyl Co., Ltd.'s halobutyl capacity at its Kashima plant by 17,000 tons per year.

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Press release from ExxonMobil