Toyobo Indorama Advanced Fibers Co., Ltd. (TIAF), a joint venture that Toyobo Co., Ltd. established in November 2020 with Indorama Polyester Industries PCL (IPI), has completed construction of a factory to manufacture high-performance nylon yarn for automobile airbags. A ceremony was held on October 11, 2022, to mark the factory’s opening. Bangkok-based IPI is under the umbrella of Indorama Ventures Public Co., Ltd., a global sustainable chemical company producing, marketing and selling polyester fibers, amongst others.
The airbag market is expected to grow by 3 to 4% annually due to the increasing number of airbags mounted per car and the rising proportion of automobiles equipped with airbags in emerging economies.
TIAF’s new factory to manufacture nylon yarn for airbags (Source: Toyobo)
The yarn factory, which has been built on the site of the IPI factory in Rayong Province, Thailand, will boost manufacturing capacity by effectively using resources of Indorama Ventures and Toyobo to meet the increase in global demand for airbags. The manufacturing team will start test production in October 2022 with the goal of starting commercial production in the middle of 2023. The plant is designed for a maximum output of 11,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). The total investment in the plant is around 2.596 billion baht (about 10 billion yen; around $68 million).
In 2014, Toyobo and Indorama Ventures jointly acquired Germany’s PHP Fibers GmbH, a leading airbag yarn maker. Since then, Toyobo has strengthened its relationship with Indorama Ventures, while focusing on expansion of the airbag business.