TOKYO—Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. plans to expand production capacity at the Shin-Etsu Silicones of America (SESA) plant in Akron.
The investment in SESA, which is engaged in the manufacturing and sales of silicones in the U.S., will be around $21.8 million, with the expansion work aimed for completion in the middle of 2019.
SESA's Akron plant produces various silicone products that possess diversified forms and applications such as high consistency silicone rubber, liquid silicone rubber for adhesives and sealing materials, silicones for cosmetics and heat-dissipating silicones for applications in automobiles and electronics parts.
According to the Japanese specialty chemicals company, the project will expand production capacity for those silicone products, in addition to setting up a new production facility for silicone emulsions.
Shin-Etsu Chemical has scaled up its silicones business since 2014, with a major expansion at its facilities in Thailand and Japan, and construction of a new research building at its Silicone-Electronics Materials Research Center in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
In total, the Japanese company has invested $592 million in silicone growth in the past four years.
SESA is the North American base of Shin-Etsu Chemical's silicones business.
In addition to its Akron plant, SESA also produces organo-functional silane at its production unit in Freeport, Texas. Shin-Etsu also opened a technical center in the New Jersey in 2015.