Asahi Kasei increases the production capacity of its Chinese resin compound plant 

The multinational Japanese chemical company Asahi Kasei Group announced that in order to expand its production capacity, it will introduce high-precision extruders to its Chinese resin compound manufacturing plant located in the New Materials Industrial Park, Changshu City, Jiangsu province. The group will also increase strategic investment in the functional materials business in the Chinese market. 

Asahi Kasei Plastics (Changshu) Co., Ltd., which is Asahi Kasei’s compound factory in Changshu, has officially been put into production in April 2021. But with the expansion of the functional materials business in the Chinese market, it is expected that there will be insufficient production capacity after 2024.

In view of this situation, Asahi Kasei decided to increase production capacity and storage capacity, and plans to start production of the factory extension with the new high-precision large-scale extruders in October 2023. The annual production is expected to increase from 28,000 to 36,000 tonnes. 

Positive outlook for the Chinese market 

Asahi Kasei is striving to expand its business in China’s functional material market, focusing on automotive and solar cell modules (PV) and other uses, steadily increasing the sales of engineering resins, so that China’s domestic production scale has gradually expanded and surpassed that of Japan. By expanding sales to new application markets with growth potential, such as electric vehicles (EVs), 5th generation mobile communication systems (5G), connectors and environmentally friendly materials, the annual sales growth rate is expected to reach about 10%. 

Asahi Kasei Group has positioned the functional materials business of its Mobility & Industrial Business Division as a key strategic business, especially focusing on expanding its operations in China, which has a promising market prospect, according to the group.