Japanese firms invest in diaper raw materials

Abstract

Encouraged by rising sales of disposable diapers across Asia, Japanese chemical companies are investing in facilities to supply raw materials for baby and adult care products. Earlier this month, Zeon completed a more than $60 million expansion of a plant in Mizushima, Japan, that makes Quintac, a thermoplastic elastomer used to formulate pressure-sensitive adhesives. One of the big applications for such adhesives is fasteners for diapers, a point Zeon Chairman Naozumi Furukawa made at an opening ceremony. Separately, both Toray Industries and Mitsui Chemicals recently announced capacity expansions at facilities that produce nonwoven fabrics for disposable diapers. Toray will increase output of polypropylene spunbond nonwoven fabric in Gumi, South Korea. Mitsui will boost capacity at its site in Yokkaichi, Japan. The announcements by the three companies come as another Japanese firm, Nippon Shokubai, is about to start up a new superabsorbent polymers plant in Himeji, Japan. Shokubai is the world’s