Nippon Shokubai announces Indonesian subsidiary's plan to expand its superabsorbent polymer (SAP) plant
Nippon Shokubai announces Indonesian subsidiary's plan to expand its superabsorbent polymer (SAP) plant
Nippon Shokubai Co., headquartered in Osaka, Japan, has announced that the company decided, at its board meeting held on July 30, 2024, to give approval to an investment plan at PT. NIPPON SHOKUBAI INDONESIA (NSI). The plan is to build a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) plant capable of producing 50,000 metric tpy.
Background of investment. SAP, one of Nippon Shokubai's core products, shows steady growth of demand as a key material for diapers globally, particularly in the regions where their populations are anticipated to increase rapidly.
As a result of the study, Nippon Shokubai decided to expand the capacity of NSI as it had already expanded its production facility of acrylic acid (AA) by 100,000 tpy (total AA capacity after the expansion: 240,000 tpy) and can take advantage of its strength from the vertically integrated production from AA to SAP to meet the strong demand growth in the Asian region in anticipation of synergistic effects with the existing plant.
On the other hand, for the old SAP production facilities with relatively low productivity in Himeji, Japan, Nippon Shokubai will consider stopping some of these facilities to optimize Nippon Shokubai's global SAP supply network in future.
Feature of investment:
Production capacity: SAP 50,000 tpy
(current capacity 90,000 tpy, total 140,000 tpy after completion)
Schedule: Mechanical completion -- January 2027
Commercial operation -- July 2027
Location: Existing plant site of NSI
Investment amount: Approx. $110 MM
Corporate outline of NSI:
Established: August 1996
Location: Cilegon, Banten Province, Republic of Indonesia (head office and plant)
Description of business: Manufacture and sale of acrylic acid, acrylates and superabsorbent polymers
Capital: $120 MM (paid-in capital), 99.9% contributed by Nippon Shokubai
Number of employees: 448 (as of March 31, 2024) to help power Corpus Christi refinery operations.
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