June. 29 2009
Toray Industries,Inc.
Toray Fine Chemicals Co.,Ltd
Toray Fine Chemicals and Sinopec Asset Management Corporation to Establish DMSO Production/Sales JV in China
Toray Industries, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Toray”; headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Sadayuki Sakakibara ;) and Toray Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Toray, hereinafter referred to as “TFC”; headquarters: Urayasu, Chiba; President: Tetsuya Watanabe;) and Sinopec Asset Management Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “Asset Management Corporation”; headquarters: Beijing, China; Legal Representative: Li Chunguang;) today announced that the companies have reached agreement to establish a joint venture to produce and sell dimethylsulfoxide, or DMSO, in China.
Based on this agreement, the joint venture to be known as Cangzhou Toray Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. (investment ratio: 60% by TFC and 40% by Asset Management Corporation,) will be formally inaugurated in July this year and it will be situated at Cangzhou city ,Hebei province, China. The new joint venture will take over Asset Management Corporation’s production facility for dimethyl sulfide, or DMS, an intermediary ingredient of DMSO, and construct new production facilities so as to be able to achieve DMSO production and sales of 10,000 ton a year. The total investment is expected to come to approximately 21 million USD (2 billion yen).
DMSO is a non-proton polar solvent that dissolves organic and inorganic compounds. As a result of its high dissolving power and permeability, it has a wide range of applications including, but not limited to, use as a cleaning agent for electronics parts and plants, remover for auto parts molds and reaction solvent for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals.
Global demand for DMSO has been estimated to have been about 60,000 ton in 2008, and demand for DMSO in electronic material applications is expected to expand in China following the entry of various Japanese and Taiwanese electronic parts manufacturers into the country. At the same time demand is also expected to grow in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical fields.
TFC is Japan’s sole producer of DMSO and is also currently the world’s top producer of DMSO with a combined output of some 17,000 ton annually at its Chiba Plant (Ichihara, Chiba prefecture) and Tokai Plant (Tokai, Aichi prefecture). The establishment of the new joint venture will enable TFC to build a global operational setup for DMSO and maintain its position at the top. Toray aims to pursue further expansion in its chemical business by bolstering its overseas bases to further deepen the reach of its global operations and through its steady efforts to capture growth markets.
Asset Management Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopec. Sinopec is Asia’s largest integrated company of petroleum refinery and petrochemicals. The company processed 170 million ton of crude and manufactured more than 20 million ton of petrochemical products including synthetic resins, rubber and fibers in 2008. Sinopec has been pursuing improvement of its product mix and is focusing on development and expansion of business in value added products.
Corporate profiles
Cangzhou Toray Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.
| 1. | Established | : | Scheduled for July 2009 |
| 2. | Capital | : | 100 million yuan (1,433 million yen) |
| 3. | Location | : | Cangzhou,Hebei Province,China |
| 4. | Investment ratio | : | Toray Fine Chemicals Co.,Ltd. · 60%; Asset Management Corporation · 40% |
| 5. | Employees | : | 70 (July 2009) |
| 6. | Production capacity | : | 10,000 ton of DMSO annually |
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