MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei has decided to discontinue its businesses for Polydurex and Polytlon acrylic latexes and for photocatalyst coating, and to close its Wakayama plant which manufactures these products, as per the company's press release.
Acrylic latex has been manufactured at the Wakayama plant since 1970 and supplied to customers around the world for 51 years, while photocatalyst coating has been manufactured at the same plant since 2009 and supplied in Japan for 12 years.
Recently, however, demand has declined especially in the domestic Japanese market, resulting in lower shipment volumes and diminished profitability. Although various efforts have been made to enable both businesses to continue, the decision was made to discontinue the businesses and to close the Wakayama plant considering the difficulty of devising a strategy for future expansion.
As MRC informed before, in July 2019, Asahi Kasei decided to expand its plant for the artificial suede LamousTM in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, by four million m2/year, increasing the total production capacity to 14 million m2/year upon completion in 2021.
We remind that Asahi Kasei’s net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2021 slumped by 23.2%, weighed down by weakness in its materials business, and as the company booked a one-off loss for the period. The materials segment was hit by global economic deterioration amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Asahi Kasei Corporation is a multinational Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki based producer of ammonia, nitric acid, and other chemicals. Now headquartered in Tokyo, with offices and plants across Japan, as well as China, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Germany.
MRC