Tosoh Spending Money at Home

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Tosoh Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) has four unit additions planned to begin construction this year at the Nanyo, Japan site (Plant 1060034). The total investment cost for all four units is estimated at approximately $600 million. Tosoh will add an aniline unit (PEC 90000089), a caustic soda unit (PEC 90000106), a vinyl chloride monomer unit (PEC 90000119), and an ethylene dichloride unit (PEC 90000120).

The aniline unit will have an expected capacity of 150,000 metric tons a year when operational in the second half of 2005. Toyo Engineering Corporation (Narashino, Japan) has been awarded the engineering and construction contract. Construction is scheduled to commence on the $185 million unit during the fall of this year.

The caustic soda unit, which is estimated at $30 million, will produce 130,000 metric tons a year using membrane technology. Construction is slated to begin in the summer of this year and the expected completion date is the latter part of summer in 2005.

Production capacity for the vinyl chloride monomer (VDM) unit will be 600,000 metric tons a year when fully operational in 2006.

Construction on the ethylene dichloride (EDC) unit is expected to start during the first quarter of 2005 and completion is tentatively scheduled for the second half of 2006. This unit will also have a production capacity of 600,000 metric tons a year.

Tosoh's beginnings can be traced back to 1935 and one year later the Nanyo complex, Tosoh's largest production site, began operations. In 1976, Tosoh opened up a trading company in Amsterdam that was later named Tosoh Europe B V in 1987. Tosoh reached across the ocean in 1979 and established Tosoh USA, Incorporated. Today, Tosoh has operational facilities and an established presence in North America, Europe and across Asia. Tosoh is the largest producer of caustic soda and vinyl chloride monomer in Japan.