TOKYO—Mitsui Chemicals Inc. will add a line that will produce 5,000 tons per year more of its Milastomer thermoplastic elastomer materials, the company has announced.
The expansion at Mitsui's domestic subsidiary, Sun Alloys Co. Ltd., is in response to “upswings” in demand for thermoplastic olefinic elastomers, the firm reported in a July 28 news release.
Construction work at Sun Alloys' base in Chiba, Japan is scheduled to start in February with commercial operation of the elastomers line slated to begin next October.
Demand for the low-density material has grown particularly for uses in automotive materials, gaskets and civil engineering joint fillers, building materials and grips.
Mitsui expects demand to continue around the world in line, it said, with wider uses in automotive interiors and as weather strips.
The statement described Milastomer as a “core business in the mobility domain” that would attract further resources to bolster growth and expansion around the world.
Last year Chinese subsidiary Mitsui Chemicals Functional Composites (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. launched manufacturing and compounding operations for Milastomer materials at a facility in Jinshan district, Shanghai.