09.02.21
Osaka, Japan
www.toray.com
2020 Nonwovens Sales: $902 million
Key Personnel
Makoto Nishimura, general manager, Nonwoven and Advanced Fiber Materials Div. (Toray); Seo Jin Park, senior managing director, chief of SB Business Div. (Toray Advanced Materials Korea); Tatsu Matsushita, general manager, Performance Nonwoven Products Dept. (Toray)
Plants
Shiga and Ehime, Japan; Gumi, Korea; Nantong and Foshan, China; Jakarta, Indonesia: Andhra Pradesh, India
Processes
Spunbond, wet-layed paper, fibers for needlepunch and spunlace
Brand Names
Livsen, Axtar, Torcon, Gulfeng, Tetoron
Major Markets
Hygiene, industrial filtration, civil engineering & construction, face mask, automotive
Despite negative impacts of Covid-19, mainly in the automotive and filtration segments, Toray Industries was able to grow its sales thanks to growth in face masks and other applications that helped to fight against the spread of its infection. In 2020, group sales were $902 million across its sights in five Asian countries—Japan, Korea, China, India and Indonesia.
“The company has positioned the nonwoven material business as a priority business to expand in the medium-term management program of Toray,” says Tatsu Matsushita, GM of Performance Nonwoven Products Dept. “At present, we’re focusing on maximizing our sales based on existing production bases in Asia and India. We have also started internal discussion to proceed to the next step of expansion plans to consider this complicated market situation very carefully.”
Toray currently makes 231,000 tons of nonwovens in Asia. The largest percentage of output is currently made in China where the company has two sites in Nantong and Foshan, which together make 93,000 tons of nonwovens per year. The company’s most recent Chinese investment, in Foshan, has been completed, adding 20,000 tons of capacity.
This investment represents Toray’s latest expansion in China, where demand for the materials is still growing due to growth in the hygiene market. Also in 2020, Toray started production on a site in India, capable of making 18,000 tons of material per year.
One of the largest makers of nonwovens in Asia, Toray also makes 61,000 tons of the material in Korea, 37,000 tons per year in Indonesia, and 10,000 tons of nonwovens in Japan. The majority of this capacity is polypropylene spunbond for hygiene applications, but the company also makes polyester nonwoven fabrics for several industrial applications.
As a proven leader in the Asian nonwovens industry, Toray uses its know-how to provide specific products to fit each customer’s requirements by utilizing the advantage of each production site.
“The customer requirement is always ‘something new, something different’ so Toray is always going to be a ‘Better Solutions Supplier,’ not like the others,” Matsushita says.
While no new line investments have been announced for now, Toray is weighing the supply and demand scenario in the Asian market where competitors’ significant capacity expansions are targeting the hygiene market. “Demand expansion itself is still there,” Matsushita says. “Our way is to maximize the advantage of our supply network in Asia to contribute to our customers and society.”
www.toray.com
2020 Nonwovens Sales: $902 million
Key Personnel
Makoto Nishimura, general manager, Nonwoven and Advanced Fiber Materials Div. (Toray); Seo Jin Park, senior managing director, chief of SB Business Div. (Toray Advanced Materials Korea); Tatsu Matsushita, general manager, Performance Nonwoven Products Dept. (Toray)
Plants
Shiga and Ehime, Japan; Gumi, Korea; Nantong and Foshan, China; Jakarta, Indonesia: Andhra Pradesh, India
Processes
Spunbond, wet-layed paper, fibers for needlepunch and spunlace
Brand Names
Livsen, Axtar, Torcon, Gulfeng, Tetoron
Major Markets
Hygiene, industrial filtration, civil engineering & construction, face mask, automotive
Despite negative impacts of Covid-19, mainly in the automotive and filtration segments, Toray Industries was able to grow its sales thanks to growth in face masks and other applications that helped to fight against the spread of its infection. In 2020, group sales were $902 million across its sights in five Asian countries—Japan, Korea, China, India and Indonesia.
“The company has positioned the nonwoven material business as a priority business to expand in the medium-term management program of Toray,” says Tatsu Matsushita, GM of Performance Nonwoven Products Dept. “At present, we’re focusing on maximizing our sales based on existing production bases in Asia and India. We have also started internal discussion to proceed to the next step of expansion plans to consider this complicated market situation very carefully.”
Toray currently makes 231,000 tons of nonwovens in Asia. The largest percentage of output is currently made in China where the company has two sites in Nantong and Foshan, which together make 93,000 tons of nonwovens per year. The company’s most recent Chinese investment, in Foshan, has been completed, adding 20,000 tons of capacity.
This investment represents Toray’s latest expansion in China, where demand for the materials is still growing due to growth in the hygiene market. Also in 2020, Toray started production on a site in India, capable of making 18,000 tons of material per year.
One of the largest makers of nonwovens in Asia, Toray also makes 61,000 tons of the material in Korea, 37,000 tons per year in Indonesia, and 10,000 tons of nonwovens in Japan. The majority of this capacity is polypropylene spunbond for hygiene applications, but the company also makes polyester nonwoven fabrics for several industrial applications.
As a proven leader in the Asian nonwovens industry, Toray uses its know-how to provide specific products to fit each customer’s requirements by utilizing the advantage of each production site.
“The customer requirement is always ‘something new, something different’ so Toray is always going to be a ‘Better Solutions Supplier,’ not like the others,” Matsushita says.
While no new line investments have been announced for now, Toray is weighing the supply and demand scenario in the Asian market where competitors’ significant capacity expansions are targeting the hygiene market. “Demand expansion itself is still there,” Matsushita says. “Our way is to maximize the advantage of our supply network in Asia to contribute to our customers and society.”