As part of its continuously progressive expansion effort over the past four years, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. will spend approximately $21.3 million to expand its Akron, OH plant to 44,000 sq. ft. for its US subsidiary, Shin-Etsu Silicones of America, Inc. (SESA). The expansion is expected to be completed by the middle of 2019. SESA, which is engaged in the manufacturing and sales of highly functional silicones in the U.S., produces various silicone products that possess diversified forms and applications such as high consistency silicone rubber, liquid silicone rubber for adhesives and sealing materials, silicones for cosmetics, and heat-dissipating silicones for applications in automobiles and electronics parts. This new investment is for the purpose of expanding its production capacity for these silicone products and additionally to set up a new production facility for its silicone emulsions.
“SESA is determined to grow our specialty silicones businesses, and we are committed to expanding our local production capacity to improve our service levels and responsiveness to changing industry requirements,” explained SESA President Kazuhiro Kitani.
In addition, SESA has established a new 14,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art Technical Center facility in New Jersey in 2015 to expand its capabilities of R&D and technical services for customers in various industries. The expansion also included absorbing SESA’s Cosmetic Application Laboratory (CAL) to provide the distinct advantage of sharing comprehensive R&D capabilities and resources under one roof. These are two examples of the growth of Shin-Etsu Chemical during the past four years.
The company has been carrying out the global expansion of its silicone business by setting up production bases in Asia, the US and Europe. The objective of the new facility investments in its silicone business in these key markets is to strengthen and expand its silicones facilities at each stage−from R&D and trail production to mass production, as it seeks to steadily capture the globally expanding demand for highly functional silicone products.
Notable expansion markets include:
• Expanded the production capacity of its existing silicones plant in Thailand and obtained new adjacent industrial land adjoining its existing Thai silicone facilities.
• Shin-Etsu Chemical’s Complex in Gunma Prefecture, Japan is its largest production base in the country. Shin-Etsu has invested approximately $106.6 million in expansion at those facilities in order to carry out such silicone projects that are used in fields where demand growth is expected such as automotive, cosmetics, chemicals and healthcare. An additional $44.4 million was invested for the construction of a new research building adjoining its existing Silicone-Electronics Materials Research Center, which began its operations in the spring of 2016.
Including the new SESA Akron Plant investment for expanding production capacity in the US, the total investment amount Shin-Etsu has made in its silicones business over just the past four years now comes to $577 million. With its research, production and sales capabilities coming together as one, Shin-Etsu Chemical has been accomplishing a great deal of fruitful results in Japan and will go ahead with employing the same approach globally.
The new expansion project in the US is part of this plan, and by making the maximum use of Shin-Etsu's strengths in technology that have been nurtured over a long period of years in the field of silicon chemistry and the development of high-value-added products, Shin-Etsu will continue to strive to steadily capture the robustly growing demand for silicones in the US.
More info: www.shinetsu.co.ip