Teijin to accelerate carbon fiber business and to integrate subsidiary Toho Tenax

Based on these two developments, the Teijin Group aims to strengthen its upstream-to-downstream carbon fiber business as well as accelerate global expansion through its trilateral hubs in Japan, U.S. and Europe. In particular, the company has been leveraging research and development to expand carbon fiber business in the aircraft and automotive fields, focusing on helping companies reduce their environmental footprints to satisfy tightening environmental regulations worldwide. Teijin, aiming to be an enterprise that supports the society of the future, is evolving its carbon-fiber and other businesses under a long-term vision.

Total investments of new carbon fiber production facility in the U.S. and precursor capacity expansion in Japan will amount to JPY 35 billion, or approximately USD 320 million.

Precursor, the material that Toho Tenax will expand production by increasing the capacity of its Mishima Factory, is oxidized at 200-300 degrees centigrade and carbonized at 1,000-2,000 degrees centigrade in an oxygen-free environment and made into carbon fiber.

Integrating carbon fiber subsidiary Toho Tenax

Furthermore Teijin Limited will integrate its subsidiary Toho Tenax Co., Ltd., the core company of Teijin’s carbon fibers business, on April 1, 2018.

Integrating Toho Tenax within Teijin Limited will help maximize corporate value, specifically by expanding comprehensive capabilities through greater sharing of information, technologies and the optimized deployment of human resources throughout the Teijin Group. Teijin expects to strengthen its upstream-to-downstream global business by better leveraging its group synergies in high-performance materials and technology development and know-how.

Teijin’s current growth and transformation strategies are focusing on core strengths in materials and healthcare business fields as the pillars of its operations, as expressed in its medium-term management plan for 2017-2019 “ALWAYS EVOLVING”. The company is increasingly emphasizing its development of strong, lightweight high-performance materials that offer environmental value solutions to meet demands for higher fuel efficiency in line with intensifying environmental regulations, and businesses focused on the aircraft and automotive fields.

In accordance with the integration, Toho Tenax Europe GmbH, Toho Tenax America, Inc. and Toho Tenax Singapore Pte. Ltd will be renamed Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH, Teijin Carbon America, Inc., and Teijin Carbon Singapore Pte. Ltd., respectively.