Sumitomo Chemical is to establish new manufacturing and marketing operations in North America and Europe to boost its polypropylene (PP) compound business.
In North America, Sumitomo Chemical has operated its business in PP and PP compounds through Phillips Sumika Polypropylene Company, a joint venture with Chevron Phillips Chemical. Its new plan for the US is to form a joint venture with the Toyo Ink Group, and build a new PP compound plant to further expand its business.
In Europe, Sumitomo has entered into an agreement together with the Itochu Group and Toyo Ink Group to acquire the PP compound operations run by Asahi Kasei Chemicals and Planesa in the UK and France. The businesses targeted by this acquisition serve a broad spectrum of the automotive and home appliance industries in Europe.
With manufacturing facilities in Chiba, Japan, Singapore and the US and a plant in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia scheduled to come on-stream in the latter half of 2008, the company is already capable of supplying an annual 2 million tons of PP using its proprietary technologies.
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