09.11.24
Osaka, Japan
www.toray.com
2023 Nonwovens Sales: $1 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: Sri City, India
Processes
Spunbond, wetlaid paper, fibers for needlepunch and spunlace
Brand Names
Livsen, Axtar, Torcon, Gulfeng, Tetoron
Major Markets
Hygiene, industrial filtration, civil engineering & construction, face mask, automotive
Decreasing birth rates in China continue to lead to an imbalance between supply and demand for nonwoven materials in China, which has resulted in a year-on-year decline in sales and profits for Toray Industries. This situation has continued into 2024 but Toray has been working to improve profitability by expanding high-value-added products and reducing costs.
“In the Asian market for sanitary products, while the Northeast Asian market centered on China and Japan continues to face a supply-demand imbalance due to declining birth rates and oversupply, the market in Southeast Asia and India is still expected to grow, mainly due to the increasing penetration of sanitary products,” executives say.
Toray currently makes 231,0000 tons of nonwovens per year at its sites in China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India. 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.
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 2021 due to Coronavirus-related delays. The factory contains a polypropylene spunbond plant mainly targeting disposable diaper applications as well as an engineered plastics resin compounding plant that makes raw materials for electrical components of automobiles and in electrical and electronic connectors.
In the past year or two, the company has met customer demands for more sustainable products with the development of new product lineups and lighter-weight products to reduce plastics consumption. It has also worked to defend itself against exchange rate fluctuations by expanding sales of differentiated products and reviewing its production and supply bases.
www.toray.com
2023 Nonwovens Sales: $1 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: Sri City, India
Processes
Spunbond, wetlaid paper, fibers for needlepunch and spunlace
Brand Names
Livsen, Axtar, Torcon, Gulfeng, Tetoron
Major Markets
Hygiene, industrial filtration, civil engineering & construction, face mask, automotive
Decreasing birth rates in China continue to lead to an imbalance between supply and demand for nonwoven materials in China, which has resulted in a year-on-year decline in sales and profits for Toray Industries. This situation has continued into 2024 but Toray has been working to improve profitability by expanding high-value-added products and reducing costs.
“In the Asian market for sanitary products, while the Northeast Asian market centered on China and Japan continues to face a supply-demand imbalance due to declining birth rates and oversupply, the market in Southeast Asia and India is still expected to grow, mainly due to the increasing penetration of sanitary products,” executives say.
Toray currently makes 231,0000 tons of nonwovens per year at its sites in China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India. 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.
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 2021 due to Coronavirus-related delays. The factory contains a polypropylene spunbond plant mainly targeting disposable diaper applications as well as an engineered plastics resin compounding plant that makes raw materials for electrical components of automobiles and in electrical and electronic connectors.
In the past year or two, the company has met customer demands for more sustainable products with the development of new product lineups and lighter-weight products to reduce plastics consumption. It has also worked to defend itself against exchange rate fluctuations by expanding sales of differentiated products and reviewing its production and supply bases.
