Sekisui Chemical Co. has set up a PVB production base in Roermond, The Netherlands. For the project, the Japanese resin processor set up a Dutch subsidiary named Sekisui S-LEC B.V. in February at a st…
Sekisui Chemical Co. has set up a PVB production base in Roermond, The Netherlands. For the project, the Japanese resin processor set up a Dutch subsidiary named Sekisui S-LEC B.V. in February at a starting capital of Fl 12.5 million. The new firm is due to start construction of a 6,000-tonne-per-year production facility in June, with the start-up slated for October 1997. The Japanese company intends to raise PVB capacity by 20% to 17,000 tonnes per year, due for completion in October 1997, at its Minakuchi factory and further expand the capacity to 20,000 tonnes per year by 2000. The subsequent increased output will be fed to the envisioned production base. Sekisui turns out about 20,000 tonnes per year of safety-glass interlayer, commanding 60% of the Japanese market. Roughly 70% of the total production is shipped overseas with European shipments accounting for 40%. The planned new venture is expected to almost completely replace imports from the Japanese parent firm. A scale of the European market for safety-glass interlayers was put at 25,000 tonnes per year for 1994. Approximately 90% of the market will be shared by Monsanto, DuPont and Sekisui Chemical when the Japanese business inaugurates the Dutch foothold. The Japanese company aims to post annual sales of JPY 5 billion in 2000.