09.08.22
Osaka, Japan
www.toray.com
2021 Nonwovens Sales: $1.023 billion
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 an imbalance between supply and demand for spunbond nonwovens—due largely to low birth rates in China—Toray Industries reported nonwovens sales of $1.023 billion in 2021 thanks to deepened cooperation with key customers. This allowed the company to expand its polyester spunbond output in Shiga, Japan, and its polypropylene production in India. The company expects it sales to continue to grow in 2022 thanks to the introduction of high value added products as well as continued price increases. However, decreasing births in China, oversupply and soaring raw material and fuel prices will continue to pose challenges.
One of Asia’s largest nonwovens producers, Toray currently makes 231,000 tons of nonwovens, all within 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, was completed in 2018, adding 20,000 tons of capacity.
“Although the impact of the lockdown on operations at the polypropylene spunbond plant in China was minor, the slowdown in the Chinese economy has had a major impact on sponbond sales as well as industrial filters and other products exported from Japan to the Chinese market. In the industrial filters business, we will recover the decline in China by expanding sales to Europe and the U.S., where demand is strong,” says Tatsuya Bessho, manager of corporate communications.
Outside of China, Toray makes 10,000 tons of nonwovens in Japan, 73,000 tons in Korea, 18,000 tons in India and 37,000 tons in Indonesia. The majority of its output is polypropylene spunbond nonwovens for hygiene applications but it also makes some polyester-based fabrics for industrial filters.
Its most recent investment, a spunbond operation in Sri City, India, was started in 2018 but not complete until last year due to Coronavirus-related delays. The factory contains a polypropylene spunbond plant mainly targeting disposable diapers. The 85-acre tract of land also contains an engineered plastics resin compounding plant that makes raw materials for electrical components of automobiles and in electrical and electronic connectors. According to Bessho, having operations in so many Asian countries has proven beneficial to growth, particularly during challenging times.
“The slowdown in growth in China, Asia’s largest market, has had a significant impact, but India and Indonesia are expanding as initially expected, and Asia remains a growth market,” he says.
After a period of significant expansion in Asia with the most recent investment, the company’s first Indian operation, the company is not making any firm plans for future expansion and is instead weighing market growth opportunities in Asia. In the meantime, Toray is focusing on sustainability. Among its many efforts in this area is a reduction of plastic use in polyproplyene spunbond nonwovens, primarily through lower basis weights and the use of sustainable raw materials.
For Toray's 2020 top company profile, click here.
www.toray.com
2021 Nonwovens Sales: $1.023 billion
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 an imbalance between supply and demand for spunbond nonwovens—due largely to low birth rates in China—Toray Industries reported nonwovens sales of $1.023 billion in 2021 thanks to deepened cooperation with key customers. This allowed the company to expand its polyester spunbond output in Shiga, Japan, and its polypropylene production in India. The company expects it sales to continue to grow in 2022 thanks to the introduction of high value added products as well as continued price increases. However, decreasing births in China, oversupply and soaring raw material and fuel prices will continue to pose challenges.
One of Asia’s largest nonwovens producers, Toray currently makes 231,000 tons of nonwovens, all within 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, was completed in 2018, adding 20,000 tons of capacity.
“Although the impact of the lockdown on operations at the polypropylene spunbond plant in China was minor, the slowdown in the Chinese economy has had a major impact on sponbond sales as well as industrial filters and other products exported from Japan to the Chinese market. In the industrial filters business, we will recover the decline in China by expanding sales to Europe and the U.S., where demand is strong,” says Tatsuya Bessho, manager of corporate communications.
Outside of China, Toray makes 10,000 tons of nonwovens in Japan, 73,000 tons in Korea, 18,000 tons in India and 37,000 tons in Indonesia. The majority of its output is polypropylene spunbond nonwovens for hygiene applications but it also makes some polyester-based fabrics for industrial filters.
Its most recent investment, a spunbond operation in Sri City, India, was started in 2018 but not complete until last year due to Coronavirus-related delays. The factory contains a polypropylene spunbond plant mainly targeting disposable diapers. The 85-acre tract of land also contains an engineered plastics resin compounding plant that makes raw materials for electrical components of automobiles and in electrical and electronic connectors. According to Bessho, having operations in so many Asian countries has proven beneficial to growth, particularly during challenging times.
“The slowdown in growth in China, Asia’s largest market, has had a significant impact, but India and Indonesia are expanding as initially expected, and Asia remains a growth market,” he says.
After a period of significant expansion in Asia with the most recent investment, the company’s first Indian operation, the company is not making any firm plans for future expansion and is instead weighing market growth opportunities in Asia. In the meantime, Toray is focusing on sustainability. Among its many efforts in this area is a reduction of plastic use in polyproplyene spunbond nonwovens, primarily through lower basis weights and the use of sustainable raw materials.
For Toray's 2020 top company profile, click here.