Japan's Mitsui Chemicals Inc. plans to add 110 million pounds of polypropylene compounding capacity at factories in North America, India and Europe, to meet demand in the automotive industry.
The Tokyo-based company and its joint venture partner Prime Polymer Co. Ltd. said in a May 24 statement that they plan to add two production lines at plants in the United States, one at a plant in Aguascaliente, Mexico, and one at a factory in Neemrana, India.
It said capacity would grow by 66.1 million pounds in North America, where it operates as Advanced Composites Inc., 33 million pounds in India and 11 million pounds in Europe.
The news release did not provide details, except to say they would be operating by July 2017.
Globally, Mitsui said production capacity would increase from 2.2 billion pounds to 2.3 billion pounds. It said demand will grow for lighter parts that do not need to be painted, like bumpers and instrument panels.
The company has eight factories globally. Prime Polymers is 65 percent owned by Mitsui and 35 percent by Tokyo-based petroleum company Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd.