Mar 20 2007
Kuraray announces the commencement of operations at the expanded facilities of the SEPTON Company of America in the United States. The plant expansion was effected in order to eliminate bottlenecks in the production of hydrogenated styrenic thermoplastic elastomers.(Kuraray brands: SEPTON, HYBRAR) With this plant renovation, the annual production capacity has been increased by 6,000 tons to 18,000 tons.
SEPTON and HYBRAR thermoplastic elastomers are synthetic rubber materials developed and commercialized by Kuraray in 1990. With superior elasticity, they can be flexibly molded like plastics by heat and are widely utilized in automobile interior applications, electronics appliance components, and housing component-related materials, as well as for soft materials used in daily commodities such as toys, tools and stationery. Global demand for hydrogenated styrenic elastomers is growing, primarily in the United States, Europe and Asia, particularly for use as a substitute for vulcanized rubber and flexible PVC.
Kuraray has long positioned thermoplastic elastomers as one of its core businesses following the vinyl acetate and PVA businesses for poval and EVAL. To this end, Kuraray proactively develops its thermoplastic elastomers business worldwide.
Kuraray will continue its efforts to bolster a user-oriented development structure to develop new products that fully meet market needs and that create new markets as well. By doing so, Kuraray will focus on reinforcing and expanding the thermoplastic elastomers business.