Shin-Etsu announces silicones investments in Japan, Thailand and New Jersey

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.shinetsu.co.jp) announced plans to expand its silicones business, one of its main businesses, by implementing facility investments in Japan totaling ¥20 billion. The objective of the new facility investments in Shin-Etsu’s silicones business is to strengthen and expand its silicones facilities at each stage, from R&D and trial production to mass production, as it seeks to steadily capture the globally expanding demand for highly functional silicone products.
At Shin-Etsu Chemical’s Gunma Complex, its largest production base in Japan, the company is investing ¥5 billion as it goes forward with the construction of a new research building adjoining its existing Silicone-Electronics Materials Research Center, and is aiming to start its operations in the spring of 2016. Additionally, Shin-Etsu has decided to invest another ¥12 billion at the Gunma Complex in order to carry out such projects as the construction of new production facilities that will enable the production of many kinds of silicone products in small quantities and the reinforcement of production capacity for various types of silicone products that are used in fields where demand growth is expected such as automobiles, cosmetics, chemicals and healthcare. The company will also further strengthen its integrated system that handles all processes within the Complex from R&D to mass production. Moreover, at its Naoetsu Plant in Niigata Prefecture, Shin-Etsu Chemical will invest ¥3 billion to set up a new manufacturing facility for silicone products that will be used as a marine paint material.
With these new investments totaling ¥20 billion for its silicones business, Shin-Etsu will carry out facility investments in Japan and will supply highly functional and high-quality products globally by closely coordinating its research, production and sales capabilities. The expansions are scheduled to be completed by March 2017.
Outside of Japan, the company has invested ¥5 billion in Thailand, for new industrial space adjacent to its Thai silicone facilities, where a major production capacity expansion project is ongoing. In addition, in the U.S., Shin-Etsu has established a new technical center in the state of New Jersey.