Asahi Begins MPPE Production In Singapore

Asahi Kasei Plastics Singapore (APS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Corp., Tokyo, has started up its 48,000-tonne/yr modified polyphenylene ether (MPPE) plant at Jurong Island. Polyxylenol Singapore, a joint venture between APS and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Tokyo, started up a 30,000-tonne/yr PPE powder plant at the same site.

Asahi Kasei is the world’s second-largest MPPE maker. It also operates a 35,000-tonne/yr plant in Sodegaura, Japan. MGC runs a 10,000-tonne/yr MPPE plant in Yokkaichi, Japan. Production and sale of MPPE are handled by MGC’s affiliate, Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corp.

Demand for MPPE in 2002 was an estimated 396,500 tonnes. It was 120,500 tonnes in Asia, 135,000 tonnes in North America, and 141,000 tonnes in Europe. The new plants’ outputs push global supply to about 433,000 tonnes/yr.