4 May 2023
Facility for manufacture of styrenic elastomers and speciality polyamide part of €280m investment by Japanese group
Tokyo – Kuraray GC Advanced Materials has announced the start-up of production at its new elastomers and polyamides manufacturing facility in Thailand.
Located in the Map Ta Phut petrochemical complex in Rayong province, the 'isoprene derivatives' facility came online in stages from February to early April, Kuraray said 18 April.
Established in 2018, Kuraray GC Advanced Materials is a JV between Kuraray (53.3%), Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (33.4%), and Sumitomo Corp. (13.3%).
The new plant has capacity to produce of 16 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of thermoplastic elastomers based on hydrogenated stryenic block copolymers, and 13ktpa of polyamide 9T.
In addition, Kuraray has separately constructed a 5ktpa plant for the production of 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol (MPD) adjacent to the JV plant.
The Japanese group said it’s investment in the two plants amounted to Yen40 billion (around €280 million) overall.
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