Asahi Kasei to Replace Mie Saran Wrap Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Japan has experienced no less than 22 earthquakes in the last week, five of which measured at least a 4.0 magnitude. Japan lies on the Pacific Rim's Ring of Fire and has major subduction zones along the east coast.

Areas around Hokkaido, the country's large northern island, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya see particularly high concentrations of activity due to the convergence of the North American Plate, the Eurasian Plate, and the Philippine Sea Plate, not to mention the presence of the not-too-distant Pacific Plate. In the light of several disastrous earthquakes throughout its history, Japan, like many other Pacific Rim nations, is constantly trying to improve earthquake resistance in its infrastructure.

Earthquakes that have jeopardized nuclear facilities in Japan, such as the 2007 Niigata 6.9-magnitude quake that damaged the Kashiwazaki Nuclear Power Plant, have sent many industrial officials back to the drafting table to design safer, more earthquake-resistant buildings. Following in the footsteps of other major companies, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation (AKC) (Tokyo, Japan) and Asahi Kasei Engineering Corporation (AKEC) (Tokyo), which are subsidiaries of Asahi Kasei Corporation (TYO:3407) (Tokyo), have begun the replacement of AKC's Saran Wrap manufacturing facility in the Mie prefecture, due to the facility's inadequate earthquake resistance. Mie is east of the Osaka prefecture and just to the south of the Aichi prefecture, and is considered to be a part of the Kansai region. Kansai has experienced seismic activity as recently as Saturday, September 11, 2010.

Last month, AKEC began demolition efforts at the old facility, situated in Suzuka City, some 275 kilometers west of Tokyo, which produced approximately 80,000 tons of Saran Wrap per year. Saran Wrap is a registered trademark of Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan); however, in Japan it is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei. The new facility will have the same, if not greater, production scale when it is completed on the site of the original facility next spring.

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