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Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene
Rubber (S-SBR) Manufacturing Plant in Thailand

CORPORATE  03/21/2012
Tokyo, Japan, March 21, 2012 -On March 19th, JSR Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku Tokyo, President: Mitsunobu Koshiba) and its joint-venture partner Bangkok Synthetics Co., Ltd. (BST) held a groundbreaking ceremony and celebration for the Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR) plant to be constructed at their joint-venture company, JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd. (JBE). The plant will be the first S-SBR manufacturing plant in Thailand.

Honored guests included Mr. Thawatchai Terdphaothai, Rayong Provincial Governor and Mr. Chakkarat Lertopas, Deputy Governor (Industrial Port) of Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) in addition to many other guests from government agencies and companies concerned in plant construction. Dr. Yoshinori Yoshida, Chairman of JSR, Dr. Pichit Nithivasin, President of BST and JBE employees also attended the grand ceremony held on the construction site of the new plant at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Muang, Rayong Province.

S-SBR is a high-performance synthetic rubber used mainly in tires and industrial goods. Of particular note, global demand for S-SBR for use in fuel efficient tires has been growing rapidly in recent years. To meet this need, JSR increased the manufacturing capacity of its main plant, the Yokkaichi Plant, by 25,000 tons per year last December to bring total production capacity to 60,000 tons per year.

Demand for fuel-efficient tires is expected to continue growing due to the global heightening of eco-consciousness and the spread of the tire fuel-efficiency labeling system. The construction of this plant at a production capacity of 50,000 tons per year is the initial stage in efforts to establish the plant as a supply hub to meet this expected demand, with plans to increase its production capacity to 100,000 tons per year at some point in the future.

Through the establishment of this new plant as its supply-point in Thailand, JSR will strengthen its global network and take advantage of Thailand’s remarkably broad automobile-industry economic base, convenience as a hub for export to Asia and large domestic market that includes large-scale tire manufacturing plants. Furthermore, with the expansion of each of these supply hubs, JSR will acquire world-class production capacity and will be able to provide stable supply to respond to the expansion of global demand.

Overview of JBE and the New Plant:
1.Company Name: JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd.
2.Established: June 2011
3.Ownership: JSR 51%, BST 49%
4.Managing Director: Takatoshi Nagatomo (JSR Corp., Officer and Deputy General Manager of Petrochemical Products Division)
5.Location of Plant: Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Muang, Rayong Province, Thailand
6.Production Item: Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR)
7.Production Capacity: 50,000 tons per year (1st Phase)
8.Scheduled start-up date: June 2013 (1st Phase)