Written on 14.03.2014 - Industry
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JAPAN: Asahi Kasei realigns Japanese operations to strengthen petrochemical business

The Asahi Kasei Group, as part of its "For Tomorrow 2015" initiative, has decided to realign operations in Japan to strengthen its petrochemical business there. The strategic management initiative identified acrylonitrile (AN) and solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) for fuel-efficient tires as world-leading businesses and the group is proactively expanding production capacity for these products overseas, mainly in Asia.

"In contrast, the operating climate in the domestic Japanese petrochemical market is expected to be increasingly challenging, with contracting demand and increasingly severe competition from low-priced imports," Asahi explained.

To establish "the optimum production configuration from feedstock to derivatives in balance with domestic demand in order to heighten competitiveness and ensure a stable earnings base," Asahi has decided to take the following measures:

A 150,000-t/y AN plant in Kawasaki will be closed in August 2014 and a 100,000-t/y AN facility in Mizushima, currently used to produce "another product" as well, will be dedicated to the production of the "other product," resulting in AN production concentrated on the most cost-competitive facilities at three sites, the company explained.

Asahi has a 200,000-t/y AN plant at Mizushima, as well as AN capacity of 560,000 t/y in Korea and 200,000 t/y in Thailand.

In the styrene business, Asahi has a 390,000-t/y and a 320,000-t/y plant at Mizushima. It will close the older, 320,000-t/y unit in March 2016, and focus on the domestic Japanese market and in-house consumption.

Asahi will close a 65,000-t/y acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plant in Mizushima in December 2015 and transform the ABS business into one focused on resin compounds of styrene acrylonitrile produced by Asahi in Kawasaki with ABS procured from outside.

In December 2015, the company will shut down its 24,000-t/y styrene butadiene latex plant in Mizushima and concentrate on latex production at its 36,000-t/y plant in Kawasaki.

Additionally, a 37,000-t/y epoxy resin plant in Mizushima will be shut down in May 2015 and the epoxy resin business will be realigned to focus on high-value added products.

Finally, Asahi and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. will unify their naphtha cracker facilities in Mizushima (see related story).

Source: Weekly "PetroChemical News", Durham, NC, USA; 3 Mar 2014

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)