Kuraray to start production at new Thailand butadiene plant

MAP TA PHUT, Thailand—Kuraray GC Advanced Materials Co. Ltd. has completed the construction of a new production facility for butadiene derivatives in Thailand and is set to start operations at the site.

Established in 2018, Kuraray GC Advanced Materials is a joint venture company owned by Kuraray Co. Ltd. (53.3 percent), Thailand's PTT Global Chemical (33.4 percent) and Sumitomo Corp. (13.3 percent) and manufactures and sells butadiene derivatives in Thailand.

Located in the Map Ta Phut petrochemical complex in Rayong province, the plant will have the capacity to produce of 16,000 metric tons per year of TPEs based on hydrogenated stryenic block copolymers, and 13,000 tons of polyamide 9T, according to a Feb. 9 press release.

The products will be marketed under Kuraray brands: Septon HSBC and Genestar PA9T, according to the Japanese company.

In addition, Kuraray has separately constructed a 5,000-ton plant for the production of 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol (MPD) adjacent to the JV plant.

The Japan-based group said its investment in the two plants amounted to $297 million overall.

The Thai projects are part of Kuraray's "Vision 2026" strategy to be a "specialty chemical company growing sustainably by incorporating new foundational platforms into its own technologies."