Mitsui Chemicals Announces Ceremony to Mark Official Opening of its Second Singapore TAFMER® Plant
July 13,2010
Mitsui Chemicals,Inc.
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (“MCI”) (Toshikazu Tanaka, President & CEO) announced plans for today's ceremony to mark the official opening of its second Singapore plant for high performance elastomer (TAFMER®). The ceremony will be hosted by Mitsui Elastomers Singapore (“MELS”) at the Marina Mandarin Hotel Singapore.
The ceremony expects the attendance of leading Singapore government officials, including Minister Lim Hng Kiang of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore and Chairman Leo Yip of the Singapore Economic Development Board, and other important guests.
TAFMER®, a family of flexible and lightweight olefin elastomers with wide applications, dramatically improves impact resistance and heat sealing properties of materials when blended with thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene or polyethylene. Demand for the product in automotive, industrial, and packaging material industries has seen significant growth. TAFMER® is at the core of the company's performance material operations and efforts to strategically develop the market have resulted in a leading competitive position.
The second MELS TAFMER® plant incorporates MCI's unrivaled technologies in polymer design, metallocene catalysts, and production processes into a world-class, state-of-the-art production facility with an annual operating capacity of 100,000 tons. This new and strategically important production base will further strengthen the company's platform as a global provider of high performance elastomers.
The undertaking brings annual production capacity of Singapore's TAFMER® base up to 200,000 tons and reinforces the company's competitive edge. Additionally, the project will contribute to the overall development of the country's chemical industry and benefit the local economy as well.
“Mitsui's TAFMER plant reaffirms Singapore's attractiveness as a location for companies to produce high-value innovative products to meet growing needs in Asia and globally. We are delighted that this new plant will mark yet another milestone in Mitsui's growing presence in Singapore.” said Mr Liang Ting Wee, Director of Energy & Chemicals, EDB.
The second plant successfully commenced full-scale commercial operations in March. Demand for TAFMER® against the backdrop of Asia's economic and industrial growth and sophistication is predicted to further expand. MCI will maintain its top position in Asia by intensifying its high quality, high performance products and their technical support networks while strengthening operations in Europe and the Americas to consolidate a foothold as a global major supplier.
Overview of MELS
| 1. Company Name | MITSUI ELASTOMERS SINGAPORE PTE LTD |
|---|---|
| 2. Establishment | February 26. 2001 |
| 3. Capital | US$96.3 million (100% subsidiary of MCI) |
| 4. Address | 3 HarbourFront Place #10-01 HarbourFront Tower2 Singapore 099254 (Phone : +65－6532－0403 FAX : +65－6533－6423) |
| 5. President | Yasushi Nakashima |
| 6. Business Area： | Manufacture and distribution of high performance elastomers (mainly TAFMER® ) |
| 7. Second Plant | Capacity : 100,000 tons/year （MELS capacity of 200,000 tons/year will make MCI's total capacity including that of Ichihara Works 250,000 tons/year） Completion : October 2009 Commercial : Operation March 2010 Total Investment : USD 200 million |
