Taiwan's Far Eastern New Century Corporation Plans to Increase Green Energy Elements

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Petrochemical and textile company Far Eastern New Century Corporation (Taipei, Taiwan) has reported that it plans to expand the company's green-energy elements by incorporating more biodegradable and recyclable materials.

The company announced the new five-year development plan at an annual shareholders meeting earlier this month. Under the plan, Far Eastern New Century will invest $3.15 billion in developments outlined in the plan over the next five years.

Douglas Tong Hsu, the chairman of Far Eastern New Century, announced at the meeting that half of the total investment would be spent during the next three years, specifically to develop green-energy business lines, increase production capacities, and capture market shares in China.

The five-year plan has been prompted by increased international emphasis on environmental protection. Hsi Chia-yi, Far Eastern New Century's vice chairman, conceded that the company needs to invest more in research and development (R&D) to meet these challenges and that Far Eastern New Century will set up an R&D division specifically targeting the green-energy business.

Far Eastern New Century currently spends just 5% of its total R&D budget on green-energy business, but the new investments under the five-year plan are expected to increase this considerably to 20%. Hsi Chia-yi pointed to the company's collaboration with the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) (Atlanta, Georgia) to provide recyclable drink containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and football shirts for Nike Incorporated (NYSE:NKE) (Beaverton, Oregon) for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Besides investing heavily in R&D for green-energy business, Far Eastern New Century is planning substantial production capacity increases for polyethylene (PE) at both its Taiwan plants and those in China. The company plans to lift PE production from the current 1.6 million tons per year to 2.6 million tons per year.

PE production in Taiwan will increase 300,000 tons each year, while that in the Chinese plants will increase 700,000 tons each year. The higher production in China confirms that Far Eastern New Century is targeting the massive market in China, and Hsi Chia-yi confirmed that the company is expecting higher sales there through value-added textile and petrochemical products.

Far Eastern New Century traces its company history back to 1954, with the merger of Far Eastern Knitting Company and the Taiwan Far Eastern Textile Company. Today, the company operates mainly in the manufacture and sale of fiber and textile products, with both fiber and textile divisions.

The fiber division concentrates on polyester chips, polyester filaments and bottles, industrial filaments and high dernier industrial (HDI) yarn, while the Textile Division specializes in knitted and industrial fabrics. The company has more than 20,800 employees and markets its products mainly in Asia, North and South America and Europe.

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