Asahi Kasei expands capacity of Singapore synthetic rubber plant
Singapore
JAPAN'S Asahi Kasei Chemicals is raising the production capacity of its Singapore plant for solution polymerised styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) to meet growing demand for tyres.
The plant on Jurong Island, which began operations in 2013, has a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year. Asahi Kasei is expanding this to 130,000 tonnes a year, making it the group's largest S-SBR manufacturing site in the world.
"Demand for tyres that provide enhanced fuel-efficiency has been growing rapidly and is forecasted to continue to do so as tyre production in emerging countries grows in line with greater motorisation and as environmental regulations around the world become increasingly stringent," said the firm in a press release.
The expansion is expected to be completed by January 2019.
The Singapore plant is one of three Asahi synthetic rubber production facilities. Asahi also operates a 101,000 tonne-a-year plant in Kawasaki and a 35,000 tonne-a-year plant in Oita in Japan.
In Singapore, the plant is also part of a synthetic rubber cluster that has emerged on Jurong Island in recent years.
Lanxess opened its butyl rubber plant in 2013, its largest plant investment ever in the world. Sumitomo Chemical soon followed with its first S-SBR plant in Asia outside Japan, and ExxonMobil Chemical in 2014 broke ground for its butyl rubber and hydrocarbon resin plants in Singapore which are expected to be completed this year.
Damian Chan, executive director of energy and chemicals at the Economic Development Board, said that Asahi Kasei's decision to increase its production capacity of S-SBR in Singapore reflects the country's growing importance as a strategic gateway to Asia.
"Rapid urbanisation and a growing middle class will drive demand for high performance solutions, and Singapore is committed to partnering companies to meet these needs either through our strong technical expertise to manufacture high IP sensitive products, or access to growth markets through excellent connectivity and logistics," he said.
