Arnhem, The Netherlands, 24th November 2006 – Today, Teijin Limited and Teijin Twaron BV announce the 4th production capacity expansion in the last 6 years.
This new expansion, called ‘Nikko’ (‘Sunshine’ in Japanese), will again increase production capacity by approximately 15% for the high performance fiber Twaron®, in both plants in Emmen and Delfzijl.
The 3rd production expansion, NIJI, is completed as well as the feasibility study for further expansion, announced in February this year. Therefore, according to plans, Teijin Twaron is initiating Nikko, which again will increase monomer and polymer capacity at Delfzijl and Emmen. This extra capacity will gradually become available from the end of 2008.
These last years have continuously shown a market growth of approximately 10% for para-aramid fibers, mainly in automotive, ballistic and optical fiber cable applications.
The newly developed product Sulfron®, a new rubber compound ingredient derived from Twaron®, has also an enormous potential and is seen as a confirmation for further growth of Teijin Twaron’s high performance fibers. This new developed rubber compound ingredient is a revolution in rubber compounds and it offers various solutions for the tire industry. Besides other considerable benefits, rolling resistance of tires is improved by 20% which means 5% reduction in fuel consumption. This positions Sulfron® as an undeniable sustainable ingredient for the tire and the mechanical rubber goods market.
Teijin Twaron is the only organization offering a broad portfolio of aramid high performance fibers; Twaron, Technora, Sulfron and Teijinconex. This broad offer has enabled the organization to build a dominant position in the market. To consolidate this position and ensure future growth, Teijin Twaron keeps investing in its production, people and organization as a whole.
Teijin Twaron
Teijin Twaron is an international company that supplies customers throughout the world with aramid yarn, fiber, and pulp under the trade names Twaron®, Technora®, Sulfron® and Teijinconex®. Twaron® and Sulfron® are produced by Teijin Twaron in the Netherlands. Technora® and Teijinconex® are produced in Japan.
Twaron® finds its application in numerous markets, such as automotive (tires, hoses, belts), aerospace, civil engineering, construction, leisure goods (e.g. boats), protective clothing (bullet-, fire- and cut resistant clothing), optical fiber cables, friction and sealing materials and more (see www.twaron.com for more information).
These worldwide markets are served by a global sales and marketing network. The laboratories and technical service centers of Teijin Twaron are constantly improving the performance of its products and actively supporting customers with the development of new products and application areas.
Teijin Group
Teijin Twaron is a member of the Teijin Group. Teijin is a global, technology-driven company, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of USD 5.5 billion. It operates in five main business segments: synthetic fibers; films and plastics; pharmaceuticals and home health care; trading and retail; and IT and new products. Teijin’s consolidated turnover amounts to USD 8.5 billion. Teijin has approximately 19,000 employees worldwide.
(See www.teijin.co.jp for more information)