Mitsui Chemicals Expands Automotive Polypropylene Market

Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals Corp. recently stated that it plans to expand the polypropylene resin production capacity in the United States, Mexico, and China by a total of 63,000 tons/year to meet the increasing demand in the global automotive production market.

Mitsui Chemicals said its subsidiary Advanced Composites in Ohio, USA, will expand its capacity in the United States from 226,000 tons/year to 25.4 by building a new polypropylene resin production line with a capacity of 28,000 tons/year. 10,000 tons/year, commercial production is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2013. In addition, Mitsui will also build a polypropylene resin production line with a capacity of 25,000 tons/year in Aguas Calientes, Mexico, which will increase its production capacity from 45,000 tons/year to 70,000 tons. /Year, plan to put into production in the fourth quarter of 2013. Mitsui Advanced Composites (Zhongshan) will also build a new production line with a capacity of 10,000 tons/year of polypropylene resin in Guangdong Province, China to increase its total production capacity from 60,000 tons/year to 70,000 tons/year. The plant is expected to be in 2013. The fourth quarter of the year went into production.

At the same time, Mitsui Chemicals' subsidiary, Prime Polymer, has acquired a 70% stake in Produmaster, a polypropylene company in Brazil, and set up a new company to manage its business. Prostrom has a vehicle polypropylene resin capacity of 55,000 tons/year, including 38,000 tons/year for the São Paulo factory and 17,000 tons/year for the production capacity in Bahia.