JSR to enter into a joint venture agreement on S-SBR business in Thailand
06/15/2011
TOKYO, Japan - June 15, 2011- JSR Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President : Mitsunobu Koshiba) announced today that it entered into a final agreement with Bangkok Synthetics Co., Ltd. (Head office: Sathorn, Bangkok, President : Dr. Pichit Nithivasin, BST) on June 14, 2011 for establishing a joint venture and constructing a manufacturing plant for S-SBR (Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene Rubber) after successful negotiation by both companies since February 2011 when the Letter of Intent was signed.
The new company called JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd. will be incorporated with 51% of the total shares held by JSR and 49% held by BST by the end of June. The new manufacturing plant for S-SBR (Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene Rubber) is scheduled to start operation in June 2013 with a capacity of 50,000 tons per year with the ability to expand to 100,000 tons per year as the market demands.
S-SBR is a highly-functional synthetic rubber used mainly in tires and industrial applications. Due to the recent rise in environmental concerns as well as labeling regulations of fuel-efficient tires, global demands of S-SBR have been surged and will continue to increase for coming years. Demands in Asia are also increased because of not only for domestic market needs, but also for exports, especially for European market needs. Currently, JSR is in progress of increasing its capacity by 25,000 tons to reach 60,000 tons in total in November 2011 at the Yokkaichi Plant. Also, JSR has manufacturing capacity of 30,000 tons/year of S-SBR based on the capacity right agreement with Styron Europe, GmbH (formally known as Dow Europe) starting from 2009. By adding significantly large manufacturing capability in Thailand that is the heart land of tire manufacturing in Asia, JSR will be able to supply high performance S-SBR to meet the strong demand from the tire industry and actively move forward to expand the S-SBR business globally.
JSR defines S-SBR business as one of the most growing businesses among elastomer businesses since it contributes for reducing environment impact via supplying materials for fuel-efficient tires. JSR will continue to meet global demand timely and globally manner by optimizing its global manufacturing supply capabilities and expand global business actively.
<Overview of the new company and manufacturing facility>
About Bangkok Synthetics Co., Ltd. (BST)
BST is one of the region's largest manufacturers of a variety of Mixed C4 products including butadiene and synthetics rubbers. BST is building and strengthening the value chain from upstream to downstream in C4 based businesses with highly flexible factory design and efficient operations based on revolutionary technology. In addition to the S-SBR Project, BST is currently developing an NB Latex Business, mainly for medical glove application which is expected to be on stream in 2012.
The new company called JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd. will be incorporated with 51% of the total shares held by JSR and 49% held by BST by the end of June. The new manufacturing plant for S-SBR (Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene Rubber) is scheduled to start operation in June 2013 with a capacity of 50,000 tons per year with the ability to expand to 100,000 tons per year as the market demands.
S-SBR is a highly-functional synthetic rubber used mainly in tires and industrial applications. Due to the recent rise in environmental concerns as well as labeling regulations of fuel-efficient tires, global demands of S-SBR have been surged and will continue to increase for coming years. Demands in Asia are also increased because of not only for domestic market needs, but also for exports, especially for European market needs. Currently, JSR is in progress of increasing its capacity by 25,000 tons to reach 60,000 tons in total in November 2011 at the Yokkaichi Plant. Also, JSR has manufacturing capacity of 30,000 tons/year of S-SBR based on the capacity right agreement with Styron Europe, GmbH (formally known as Dow Europe) starting from 2009. By adding significantly large manufacturing capability in Thailand that is the heart land of tire manufacturing in Asia, JSR will be able to supply high performance S-SBR to meet the strong demand from the tire industry and actively move forward to expand the S-SBR business globally.
JSR defines S-SBR business as one of the most growing businesses among elastomer businesses since it contributes for reducing environment impact via supplying materials for fuel-efficient tires. JSR will continue to meet global demand timely and globally manner by optimizing its global manufacturing supply capabilities and expand global business actively.
<Overview of the new company and manufacturing facility>
| 1. | Name: JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd. |
| 2. | Representative: Takatoshi Nagatomo (Officer, Deputy General Manager of Petrochemical Products Division) |
| 3. | Investment Ratio: JSR 51%, BST 49% |
| 4. | Location of the Head Office: Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand |
| 5. | Location of the Manufacturing Facility: Map ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong, Thailand |
| 6. | Purpose of Enterprise: Sales and Manufacturing of S-SBR (Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene Rubber) |
| 7. | Production Capacity: 50,000 tons/year (1st Phase) , 100,000 tons/year (2nd Phase plan) |
| 8. | Scheduled start-up date: June 2013 (1st Phase), 2015 (2nd Phase plan) |
| 9. | Number of Employees: Approximate 150 people (plan) |
About Bangkok Synthetics Co., Ltd. (BST)
BST is one of the region's largest manufacturers of a variety of Mixed C4 products including butadiene and synthetics rubbers. BST is building and strengthening the value chain from upstream to downstream in C4 based businesses with highly flexible factory design and efficient operations based on revolutionary technology. In addition to the S-SBR Project, BST is currently developing an NB Latex Business, mainly for medical glove application which is expected to be on stream in 2012.