TOKYO—Mitsui Chemicals Inc. is setting up a new production facility for its Milastomer-branded thermoplastic olefin elastomer in North America.
Construction on the new unit, which will be built at the Sidney, Ohio, facility of Mitsui Chemicals' U.S. subsidiary Advanced Composites, will begin in January and is scheduled for completion in June 2019. Mitsui said it plans to bring the new facility on stream by October 2019, noting that it will have a capacity of 6,000 metric tons per year.
Demand for Mitsui's Milastomer products has increased throughout the automotive sector, which uses it in a variety of applications including gaskets and civil engineering joint fillers, building materials, and grips. The firm also said that the elastomer can be used as a substitute for PVC and vulcanized rubber.
Mitsui, which produces olefinic elastomers in Japan, Europe and China, recently added 5,000 ton-per-year line at Sun Alloys Co. Ltd subsidiary, in Chiba, Japan.