SINGAPORE — DSM Engineering Plastics has opened a new technical center in Yokohama, Japan.
The company said it decided to invest in the country because of the importance of its Japanese customers.
Spokeswoman Mirelle van der Kreeft said DSM has had a presence in Japan for 15 years and that its Japanese customers are leading industries such as automotive and electronics.
"Japan's domestic market may not grow rapidly but the market for Japanese customers is big and growing," she told European Plastics News. "For examples, close to 30 percent of cars produced in the world are made by Japanese OEMs."
Many DSM customers have headquarters in Japan, and "decisions of material selection… are being taken at headquarter locations where design of customers' products are determined", she added.
The center will focus on engineering plastics for in automotive, electrical and electronics, and food packaging applications, with product lines including DSM's Stanyl, FoTii, EcoPaxx, Akulon and Arnitel materials.
The equipment for testing includes injection molding, physical property testing and thermal and chemical analysis.
DSM would not reveal the size of the investment or the potential capacity of the center but said that it has received subsidies from the "Subsidy Program for Projects Promoting Asian Site Location in Japan," part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Japan, and from "Targeted Industry Programs," organized by Yokohama City.
The center is the fifth of its kind for DSM. The company has technical centers in Europe, the United States, China and India.