Kuraray to establish TPE joint venture in Thailand

Kuraray Co. Ltd., PTT Global Chemical PCL and Sumitomo Corp. are to invest in a project for the manufacture of butadiene derivatives, including thermoplastic elastomers, in Thailand.

The project will be operated by a joint venture called Kuraray GC Advanced Materials Co. Ltd, said a 27 Dec statement from Kuraray, which will have a 53.3 percent stake in the JV through an intermediate holding company.

Bangkok-based PTT Global Chemical will have a 33.4 percent stake in the venture. Sumitomo Corp. of Tokyo will own the remaining 13.3 percent, also through an intermediate holding company.

Headquartered in Bangkok, Kuraray GC Advanced Materials was established in June 2018 and has registered capital of about $172.8 million.

The JV will establish capacities of 16,000 metric tons per year for TPEs based on hydrogenated stryenic block copolymers, and 13,000 metric tons per year for polyamide 9T at Map Ta Phut, Thailand.

In addition, Kuraray said it independently construct a 5,000 metric tons per year plant for the production of 5KTA 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol adjacent to the JV. Construction of the facilities is expected to be completed by around the end of 2021.

Kuraray said it will invest $363.8 million combined for the two production projects.

Source: Rubber and Plastic News