Tokai Carbon to relocate Thailand subsidiary

BANGKOK—Thai Tokai Carbon Product Co., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based graphite products manufacturer Tokai Carbon, has announced plans to build a new carbon black production facility in Rayong, southern Thailand.

The company is set to start construction on the $268 million plant by July 2023 and complete the project by April 2025, Tokai said in a statement Sept. 6.

Once completed, Tokai will relocate operations from its existing 180,000-metric-ton-per-annum (180 ktpa) plant in Sriracha, to the facility which will be located at the LK Rubber industrial city hub.

Spanning an area of over 2.25 million square feet, the new manufacturing plant also will have the capacity to produce 180,000 metric tons of rubber blacks.

Tokai has been operational in Thailand since 1989 and manufactures carbon black for tire and rubber reinforcement.

In its latest statement, the supplier said demand for its carbon black products had increased "significantly" in the region in recent years due to the expansion of the automotive industry.

Tokai currently has a long-term lease agreement for its existing plant site in Thailand but has decided to establish a "more sustainable" supply platform by relocating to new land owned by the company.

The new facility, Tokai said, will be equipped with "cutting-edge technologies" to achieve higher productivity and quality with lower environmental impact.