Sumitomo Chemical adjusts Singapore subsidiary's capacity layout, closes some production lines

Share:

Sumitomo Chemical adjusts Singapore subsidiary's capacity layout, closes some production lines

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. (Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) has decided to close two production lines of its wholly-owned subsidiary Sumitomo Chemical Asia in Singapore by the end of September 2024, involving methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). This will result in a reduction of MMA monomer capacity by about 80% and PMMA capacity by about 70%.

PMMA, a plastic with excellent transparency, weather resistance and beautiful luster, is widely used in automobile taillights, signage production, aquarium tanks and liquid crystal display optical components and other fields. The MMA monomer, as an important raw material for PMMA and coatings, its market conditions are showing signs of recovery after a period of weakness, but Sumitomo Chemical predicts that its production capacity will continue to expand in the future, especially in Asia. As a result, the company decided to take a medium-to long-term perspective to ensure stable sales and profit margins in the general-purpose product segment.

After the capacity adjustment, Sumitomo Chemical will focus on special and high value-added PMMA products. In these product areas, the company will be able to make full use of its technological advantages and gradually adjust its business structure to a more stable form that can flexibly adapt to market changes.

In addition, Sumitomo Chemical has also made major adjustments in its petrochemical business, aiming to use resources more efficiently to create value through the adoption of technologies that reduce environmental impact. For example, the company completed a pilot facility for chemical recycling of plastics at the Ehime plant in Japan in December 2022, and is actively promoting technical verification and marketing activities to promote this chemical recycling technology to social applications as soon as possible.

At the same time, Sumitomo Chemical and Lummus Technology, a major technology licensor in the United States, signed a cooperation agreement in May 2024 to further license and commercialize chemical recycling technology for PMMA. Looking ahead, the company plans to invest more in providing MMA-related solutions.

As part of the short-term enhanced performance improvement measures, Sumitomo Chemical is accelerating business restructuring from the perspective of profitability and the best owner principle. The company is committed to steadily advancing these measures to achieve a V-shaped recovery in fiscal year 2024, in parallel with fundamental structural reforms.

Previous

Everbright Futures: March 20 Energy and Chemical Daily

Next

Sustainable manufacturing solutions presented in the international exhibition series in the fields of packaging technology, beverages, plastics and rubber

Quick inquiry

Create

Inquiry Sent

We will contact you soon