01.01.07
Location: Osaka, Japan
Sales: $170 million
Description: Key Personnel
Toshio Takanashi, general manager, nonwoven fabrics division; Katsuhiko Hinamoto, general manager, spunbonded fabric sales; Akira Enami, general manager Bemliese sales
Plants
Moriyama and Nobeoka, Japan
Processes
Spunbonded, meltblown
Major Markets
Coverstock, wipes, gauze, packings, white blood corpuscle removing filters
Sales are on the rise for Asahi Kasei but despite this profits have continued to fall due to increased raw material costs. To combat this, the company has gradually been increasing its nonwovens prices in many areas. This strategy, however, has not been effective in the diaper market, which has been characterized as severe and unprofitable and represents more than half of the company’s spunbond nonwovens sales, so the company has had to focus its price hikes on value-added spunbonded nonwovens areas such as polyester and nylon that offer higher strengths and other attributes. Additionally, the company is reportedly reviewing a plan to produce its nonwovens for the diaper market outside of Japan to save costs.
The production capacity of Asahi Kasei is: 13,000 tons per year of SMMS; 13,000 tons per year of polypropylene spunbonded nonwovens; 5500 tons per year of polyester spunbonded nonwovens; 3500 tons per year of nylon spunbonded nonwovens; 4500 tons per year of cupra spunbonded nonwovens and 200 tons of meltblown nonwovens. Additionally, the Osaka, Japan-based company is scheduled to open a new plant this month that will make 2000 tons per year of a new compound spunbond nonwovens, which will be sold under the brand name Precise. In other upgrades, Asahi Kasei is currently reconfiguring its polypropylene spunbond lines to be able to handle polyester, nylon and a number of other polymers to increase its flexibility.
In terms of specialty products, Asahi Kasei’s Precise nonwovens comprise a three layer laminate structure of PET and the thickness of each layer can be altered depending on the application. This nonwovens is manufactured through a one-process manufacturing method and is a three-layer structure with 1.2-2.0 microdiameters of a fiber diameter in the middle layer and 14-15 micrometers of both outer layers, which allow them to collect dust while maintaining high breathability and soakage potential. These characteristics are ideal for applications such as filters and masks. And, if a liquid of any viscosity is applied to the surface of a nonwoven, the middle layer would prevent the liquid from infiltrating into the rear face. This special quality makes Precise ideal for use as a base material for adhesive tapes and binders
Sales: $170 million
Description: Key Personnel
Toshio Takanashi, general manager, nonwoven fabrics division; Katsuhiko Hinamoto, general manager, spunbonded fabric sales; Akira Enami, general manager Bemliese sales
Plants
Moriyama and Nobeoka, Japan
Processes
Spunbonded, meltblown
Major Markets
Coverstock, wipes, gauze, packings, white blood corpuscle removing filters
Sales are on the rise for Asahi Kasei but despite this profits have continued to fall due to increased raw material costs. To combat this, the company has gradually been increasing its nonwovens prices in many areas. This strategy, however, has not been effective in the diaper market, which has been characterized as severe and unprofitable and represents more than half of the company’s spunbond nonwovens sales, so the company has had to focus its price hikes on value-added spunbonded nonwovens areas such as polyester and nylon that offer higher strengths and other attributes. Additionally, the company is reportedly reviewing a plan to produce its nonwovens for the diaper market outside of Japan to save costs.
The production capacity of Asahi Kasei is: 13,000 tons per year of SMMS; 13,000 tons per year of polypropylene spunbonded nonwovens; 5500 tons per year of polyester spunbonded nonwovens; 3500 tons per year of nylon spunbonded nonwovens; 4500 tons per year of cupra spunbonded nonwovens and 200 tons of meltblown nonwovens. Additionally, the Osaka, Japan-based company is scheduled to open a new plant this month that will make 2000 tons per year of a new compound spunbond nonwovens, which will be sold under the brand name Precise. In other upgrades, Asahi Kasei is currently reconfiguring its polypropylene spunbond lines to be able to handle polyester, nylon and a number of other polymers to increase its flexibility.
In terms of specialty products, Asahi Kasei’s Precise nonwovens comprise a three layer laminate structure of PET and the thickness of each layer can be altered depending on the application. This nonwovens is manufactured through a one-process manufacturing method and is a three-layer structure with 1.2-2.0 microdiameters of a fiber diameter in the middle layer and 14-15 micrometers of both outer layers, which allow them to collect dust while maintaining high breathability and soakage potential. These characteristics are ideal for applications such as filters and masks. And, if a liquid of any viscosity is applied to the surface of a nonwoven, the middle layer would prevent the liquid from infiltrating into the rear face. This special quality makes Precise ideal for use as a base material for adhesive tapes and binders