Asahi KASEI Chemicals to Build New Styrene-Butadiene Facility in Singapore

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Asahi KASEI Chemicals PTY Limited (Tokyo, Japan), a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Corporation (TYO:3407) (Tokyo), has announced that it is planning to build a grassroot styrene and butadiene rubber plant in Singapore. The Singapore Rubber Chemicals production facility will be in the Singapore Industrial Zone, and construction is scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2013.

Asahi KASEI is conducting market analysis and plans to carry on through next April. After approval is granted, Asahi KASEI will begin the engineer selection process and move on to scheduling and the release of requests for quotations and bid documents for subcontractors. Construction will begin with the Singapore Rubber Chemicals facility itself, and will expand to include the installation of a styrene-butadiene production line.

When complete at the end of 2014, the US$202 million Singapore Rubber Chemicals facility is anticipated to produce 50,000 metric tons per year of rubber. Asahi KASEI is already conducting site studies for a line addition expansion of Singapore Rubber Chemicals, which will continue into the first quarter of 2013. When approval is granted, the company hopes to select an engineer and begin searching for subcontractors. Construction of the US$101 million line addition is expected to begin while the facility is being built during the second quarter of 2014, and is scheduled to conclude early in 2016. After completion, Singapore Rubber Chemicals will have a production capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year of styrene-butadiene rubber.

Styrene-butadiene rubber is a synthetic rubber co-polymer that is commonly blended with natural rubbers for the manufacturing of automobile tires. It has high abrasion resistance, and is usually produced in pressure-reaction vessels in solution or as an emulsion. All styrene-butadiene rubber produced at the future Singapore Rubber Chemicals facility will go on to be utilized in automobile tire manufacturing.

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