March 15, 2019
Asahi Kasei Corp.

Asahi Kasei will expand production capacity for spunbond nonwovens in Thailand through the addition of a new production line at its subsidiary Asahi Kasei Spunbond (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (AKST). Together with the two existing lines, the third line of 15,000 tons/year will raise total capacity for spunbond at AKST to 50,000 tons/year.

Background

Since beginning its spunbond business in 1973, Asahi Kasei has supplied Eltas™ spunbond for use in a wide variety of applications including disposable diapers and other hygienic products, automotive and other industrial applications, and deodorizing sheets and other consumer products. Asahi Kasei has expanded the spunbond business with two production sites in Japan (Moriyama, Shiga, and Nobeoka, Miyazaki) as well as AKST in Thailand since 2012.

AKST started operation of its second production line in 2016 to meet rapidly growing demand for spunbond for diaper applications in Asia. The third line will further reinforce AKST’s capability to meet ongoing demand growth with higher product performance, quality, and cost competitiveness.

Asahi Kasei will continue to enhance its infrastructure for stable supply of spunbond in line with market growth in Asia while responding to the needs of diaper manufacturers in the region.

Outline of the capacity expansion

Location

Saha Group Industrial Park – Siracha, Chonburi Province, Thailand

Product

Polypropylene (PP) spunbond

Capacity

15,000 tons/year (total increasing to 50,000 tons/year)

Groundbreaking

March 2019

Start-up

July 2021 (scheduled)

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