Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. announced today that it will postpone for approximately one year the start of production at its new carbon fiber plant in the Otake Production Center.
This decision has been taken because of the current severe business environment. Construction work currently underway will be temporarily halted in line with this decision.


Changes to schedule

Originally scheduled commencement of operations 4^th Quarter 2009
New tentative time-frame for commencement of operations: 4^th Quarter 2010

Construction site : Mitsubishi Rayon Otake Production Center (Otake City, Hiroshima Prefecture)
Scheduled production capacity: 2,700 tonnes per annum Products to be manufactured: High-performance standard modulus carbon fiber tow (Pyrofil P330 Series), mainly for industrial uses

Investment : approx. ¥12 billion

Demand for carbon fibers is expected to grow strongly over the foreseeable future for a wide range of industrial applications, including wind turbine blades, pressure vessels, and vehicles. We consequently took the decision to construct the new production facilities in question to enable us to cope with this anticipated increase in demand.
Due to the recent worldwide economic downturn, demand for carbon fiber in several market sectors is expected to remain stagnant and the development of new applications are also being delayed.
Because of this situation we have therefore decided to postpone the start of operations at our new facilities by approximately one year.

However marketing and introduction of the new type of carbon fiber that we plan to produce at the new facilities, in Otake, Japan, will continue based on production at Grafil Inc, our consolidated subsidiary located in USA. Production at Grafil Inc will be increased as we progress through 2009 to meet demand, ensuring continued supply to customers. This will enable development of new applications for the P330 series of fibers to continue pending the new facilities at the Otake Production Center coming on-stream.

The Pyrofil P330 Series

The P330 Series possesses the same properties as Mitsubishi Rayon's TR50S/TRH50 high-strength carbon fibers, but with an increased filament count (50-60k). Compared to conventional small tow fibers the new products will offer increased strength and higher modulus while maintaining the processability of small tow fibers. The P330 series is aimed at the production of large molded products and we expect this series to change users' conceptions of PAN-based carbon fibers.

Vertical axis : Tensile strength in MPa (megapascals) Horizontal axis : Elongation modulus in GPa (gigapascals)