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| June 17, 2005 |
| Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. |
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| Update on the MMA Business |
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Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd (Head Office: Minato Ward, Tokyo, President: Yoshiyuki Sumeragi) and Lucite International (Head Office: U.K., CEO: Ian R. Lambert) have decided to share investments in the construction of two new MMA (methyl methacrylate) monomer plants, one in North America and one in ASEAN with a total capacity of 260,000 tons. The two corporations have concluded an agreement for mutual supply of products between both plants as well as to explore the potential of creating a future joint venture. Mitsubishi Rayon had been for some time considering the construction of a new MMA monomer plant in North America; for Lucite, the new MMA monomer plant in Singapore .
The overview of the two new plants is the following: |
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| 1. |
North America |
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Constructor: |
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Mitsubishi Rayon |
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Site: |
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Texas |
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Capacity: |
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140,000 tons of MMA and MAA (mathacrylic acid) |
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Production technology: |
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C4 direct oxidation process |
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Schedule: |
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completion by the end of 2009;
start of commercial operation in 2010 |
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| 2. |
ASEAN |
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Constructor: |
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Lucite International |
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Site: |
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Singapore |
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Capacity: |
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120,000 tons of MMA |
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Production technology: |
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Alpha process (C2 process) |
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Schedule |
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completion by the end of 2007;
start of commercial operation in 2008 |
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The Mitsubishi Rayon Group is the largest MMA manufacturer in the Asian region, Thailand, China, and Japan, of products from monomer to polymer items (molding materials, sheets, paint resins, etc.). The construction of the new MMA plant in North America is among the major issues of the fifth medium-term management plan ending in 2007, which was announced in April 2005, and the decision on the construction is the result of a more refined review of the plan for its implementation.
In China and other parts of Asia, the strong demand for IT products, automobiles, etc., has caused a tight demand-and-supply situation of both MMA monomers and polymers. To tackle such circumstances, we plan to start the operation of a new plant with a capacity of 90,000 tons in China in 2006, of which a total of 70,000 tons have already been set apart for consumption in our own plants in China for the production of PMMA molding materials (started in December, 2003), PMMA sheets (to be started in July, 2005) and paint resins (to be started in June, 2005). Furthermore, continued growth of the demand for polymers is expected in China and Mitsubishi Rayon as a group has been seeking ways to promptly increase the polymer production capacity in China as well as to enhance the capacity of production of MMA monomers, which are basic ingredients of polymers, in China and other parts of Asia.
The Lucite Group, which is making a trial run of the new 100,000-ton MMA monomer plant in Shanghai in preparation for its scheduled start of operations in 2005, has judged that production capacity increase is necessary to cope with the continued high demand in Asia and decided to construct the new plant in Singapore following the one in China. The production technology to be applied in the new plant uses ethylene as material, which, like the C4 technology, has the advantage of stable procurement. |
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| [Lucite International] |
| CEO: |
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Ian R Lambert (CEO) |
| Head Office: |
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Queens Gate, 15-17 Queens Terrace, Southampton SO14 3BP, United Kingdom |
| Phone: |
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00 44 2380 248150 (Ian R. Lambert, Chief Executive) |
| Lines of Business: |
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Upstream and Downstream Bisness of the MMA |
| Paid-in Capital: |
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£ 175 million |
| Net Sales: |
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£ 707 million |
| Employees: |
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2,091 (As of December 31, 2004) |
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| For further inquiries, please contact: |
| Public and Investor Relations Office |
| e-mail:
koho@mrc.co.jp |
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