SINGAPORE—Asahi Kasei Rubber Singapore Pte. Ltd. is increasing the production capacity for solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber at its Jurong Island, Singapore, plant.
The expansion will increase the facility's production by 30 percent to 130,000 metric tons per year by January 2018, according to a news release issued by the firm. The plant, built in 2013, has capacity for about 100,000 tons of SSBR per year and produces the company's high-performance grades of SSBR
Asahi Kasei noted previously that SSBR would be a key strategic business in its medium-term management initiative. This determination, the firm said, was driven in part by demand for tires with enhanced fuel-efficiency.
The Japanese supplier said its materials had achieved "a high-level balance of braking performance and fuel efficiency while also improving abrasion resistance and handling stability characteristics, mainly with the continuous polymerization process."
Asahi Kasei operates SSBR plants in Japan—in the Kanagawa and Oita prefectures—and Singapore.