JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012 - 76

JCM 73 June: Special Feature JEC Asia

Carbon fibre: a host of projects in Asia
Carbon fibre has the wind in its sails. Not a month goes by without a new announcement taking place. The entire value chain is concerned: precursor, fibre, and prepreg. Asia, of course, is in pole position with 7 announcements since the beginning of the year. The demand is particularly strong in aeronautics, which will not surprise anyone, and more and more as well in the automotive industry.

Toray to enhance global carbon fibre production capacity
Toray Industries, Inc. has decided to enhance its production capacity for carbon fibres at its four global sites based in Japan, the USA, France and South Korea.

oray plans to invest a total of approximately 45 billion yen in these four bases to increase the annual production capacity by 6,000 tons. Production at the new lines at these bases is expected to start in order from 2014 through 2015. Toray Group currently has an annual production capacity of 17,900 tons of carbon fibres globally, and will increase this to 21,100 tons per year by January 2013 with 2 new lines currently under construction. With the proposed large-scale expansion, the Group’s overall production capacity will rise to 27,100 tons by March 2015, which will ensure a stable supply structure to deliver high-performance, high-quality carbon fibres to

customers around the world.

Investment in Japan
About 50% of the total investment will be made in Japan to build an integrated production facility for precursor (raw material for carbon fibre) and high-performance small-tow carbon fibre, mainly used in aircraft and premium automobiles, at the Ehime plant. The line will have a production capacity of 1,000 tons per year and Toray aims to start operations in March 2015. While the Group has already been carrying out construction work to increase Ehime plant’s production capacity of high-performance small-tow carbon fibre by 1,000 tons as of September 2012, the demand for such material has

been increasing and the proposed additional expansion is expected to fulfil this demand. The project has been selected for receiving support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and An increasing demand Industry under the Japan, and the persistently Subsidy for Domestic Locastrong yen has created a tough tion Promotion Projects for business environment for fiscal year 2011. Japanese exports. The Group, Toray has positioned the however, intends to continue domestic production bases as with its above basic strategy global mother plants and pur- to maintain and strengthen sues a basic policy of maindomestic production bases taining and strengthening by leveraging the government them as production centres policy for improving the dofor advanced materials and mestic business environment, high-value-added products as including the aforementioned well as the base for develosubsidy. ping new technologies and new products. About 90% Three overseas bases of the demand for carbon Under the unique circumsfibres comes from outside tance for the Group that the

76 jec composites magazine / No72 April - May 2012

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012