01.01.03
Location: Osaka, Japan
Sales: $147 million
Description: Key Personnel
Yoshikazu Ban, general manager, nonwoven fabrics division/spunbonded fabric sales: Mitsuharu Takahash, general manager, Bemliese/Coldon sales; Yukihisa Hirano, general manager, new nonwovens business promotion
Plants
Moriyam, Noveoka
Processes
Spunbonded, spunlaced, meltblown
Brand Names
Eltas, Bemliese, Microweb, Ellush, Coldon, Shaleria
Major Markets
Coverstock wipes, gauze, packings, white blood corpuscle removing filters
Asahi Kasei, Osaka, Japan can produce 13,000 tons of SMS, 12,000 tons of polypropylene spunbonded, 6000 tons of polyester spunbonded, 4000 tons of nylon spunbonded, 4000 of cupra spunbonded, 500 tons of spunlaced and 200 tons of meltblown materials per year. In 2002, sales of SMMS and polypropylene spunbonded nonwovens were brisk, unlike polyester spunbonded and nylon spunbonded sales, which decreased. Meanwhile, Asahi’s Cupra-based spunbonded material, which is exclusively offered by the company, saw its sales decrease in early 2002 and pick up during the second half of the year.
Higher prices of polypropylene, polyester and nylon, deteriorated profit levels in Asahi Kasei’s spunbond business, a situation that the company countered with a pricing increases across the board in April 2003. Asahi Kasei had not raised prices since December 2000 when it levied increases in the polyester and nylon categories. At that time, polypropylene products were not subject to increases because of the intense price competition in the segment. This time, however, polypropylene prices were raised, a measure that was followed by many of Asahi’s competitors, according to executives.
A large portion of Asahi Kasei’s business targets wipes, a market that is not expected to grow within Japan and Southeast Asia in upcoming years. This prompted Asahi Kasei, in June 2002, to construct a facility in Malayasia, dedicated to manufacturing wipes for cleanroom applications. In another effort to boost its wipes business, Asahi Kasei has formed an alliance with an unnamed U.S.-based wipe manufacturer to export roll goods into the U.S. Asahi Kasei expects to export 100 tons of material there in 2003. This figure is expected to rise to 500 tons by 2005.
Sales: $147 million
Description: Key Personnel
Yoshikazu Ban, general manager, nonwoven fabrics division/spunbonded fabric sales: Mitsuharu Takahash, general manager, Bemliese/Coldon sales; Yukihisa Hirano, general manager, new nonwovens business promotion
Plants
Moriyam, Noveoka
Processes
Spunbonded, spunlaced, meltblown
Brand Names
Eltas, Bemliese, Microweb, Ellush, Coldon, Shaleria
Major Markets
Coverstock wipes, gauze, packings, white blood corpuscle removing filters
Asahi Kasei, Osaka, Japan can produce 13,000 tons of SMS, 12,000 tons of polypropylene spunbonded, 6000 tons of polyester spunbonded, 4000 tons of nylon spunbonded, 4000 of cupra spunbonded, 500 tons of spunlaced and 200 tons of meltblown materials per year. In 2002, sales of SMMS and polypropylene spunbonded nonwovens were brisk, unlike polyester spunbonded and nylon spunbonded sales, which decreased. Meanwhile, Asahi’s Cupra-based spunbonded material, which is exclusively offered by the company, saw its sales decrease in early 2002 and pick up during the second half of the year.
Higher prices of polypropylene, polyester and nylon, deteriorated profit levels in Asahi Kasei’s spunbond business, a situation that the company countered with a pricing increases across the board in April 2003. Asahi Kasei had not raised prices since December 2000 when it levied increases in the polyester and nylon categories. At that time, polypropylene products were not subject to increases because of the intense price competition in the segment. This time, however, polypropylene prices were raised, a measure that was followed by many of Asahi’s competitors, according to executives.
A large portion of Asahi Kasei’s business targets wipes, a market that is not expected to grow within Japan and Southeast Asia in upcoming years. This prompted Asahi Kasei, in June 2002, to construct a facility in Malayasia, dedicated to manufacturing wipes for cleanroom applications. In another effort to boost its wipes business, Asahi Kasei has formed an alliance with an unnamed U.S.-based wipe manufacturer to export roll goods into the U.S. Asahi Kasei expects to export 100 tons of material there in 2003. This figure is expected to rise to 500 tons by 2005.