Corrected: Daicel cellulose acetate unit work begins

24 October 2006 12:35  [Source: ICIS news]

Correction: In the ICIS news story headlined "Daicel begins work on new cellulose acetate unit" dated 24 October, 2006, please read in the second paragraph ... The Japanese chemicals producer in August had acquired 100,000 square metres of land ... instead of ... in July ... In the third paragraph, please read ... the new Otake factory would be able to produce twice the site's current production output ... instead of ... the company's current production output. A corrected story follows.

TOKYO (ICIS news)--Daicel Chemical Industries has started construction of its new Yen40bn ($334.7m/€266.8m) cellulose acetate plant in Otake, Hiroshima prefecture to produce films for liquid crystal displays (LCD), a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

The Japanese chemicals producer in August had acquired 100,000 square metres of land adjacent to its existing factory in Otake, it said in a statement earlier in the day. The plant is expected to start operations in April 2008.

The spokesman said that new Otake factory would be able to produce twice the site’s current production output of tri-acetyl cellulose (TAC) when its starts operating. However, he declined to disclose the two units’ capacities

The company also plans to have a series of capacity increases at its cellulose acetate facility in Himeji, Hyogo prefecture through 2009, the spokesman added.

Meanwhile, Daicel was also constructing a new unit to produce acetate tow for cigarette filters at the Otake factory, the spokesman said, which would start operating in the second half of 2007. He, however, did not divulge the plant’s capacity.

Daicel’s 16,000 acetate tow tonnes/year unit in Xian, China’s Shaanxi province, had started commercial operations on 1 October, the spokesman added. With the new unit, the total capacity of the plant has been increased to 24,000 tonnes/year from 8,000 tonnes/year.

The plant is operated by joint venture Xi’an Huida Chemical Industries, in which Daicel has a 30% stake.

By: Tomomi Yokomura
+65 6780 4359

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