Asahi to close fluorochemicals plant in US Bayonne

28 September 2007 04:42  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Japanese chemicals producer Asahi Glass said late on Thursday that it will close its fluorochemicals facility in New Jersey, US by the end of the year due to decreased profitability in the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) business.

The Bayonne plant produces and sells fluorinated resin PTFE and fluorinated solvent AK-225.

Poor market conditions and changing market structure had forced the closure, company president Masumi Suehiro said in a statement.

The decision was also in line with Asahi’s previously announced three-year medium-term management plan to improve earnings in North America, Asahi said.

The plant currently has 157 employees, who will all be offered job transition assistance, it added.

Asahi will relocate its North American headquarters from Bayonne to Exton, Pennsylvania, where it operates a technical centre selling fluorochemical products and offering related services, it said.

The company will continue to operate its fluorinated resin compound business at its facility in Thorndale, Pennsylvania. Although domestic manufacturing will cease, it will continue to import PTFE and AK-225 from Asahi’s companies in Japan and the UK for sale in North America.

In 1999, Asahi Glass acquired the UK and US fluorinated resin business of Imperial Chemical Industries, and established Asahi Glass Fluoropolymers to operate Asahi’s fluorochemicals business in the US.

Asahi Glass Fluoropolymers, now known as AGC Chemicals, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi.

PTFE is a heat-resistant fluorinated resin which is used in the production of semiconductor products and automobile parts, while AK-225 is a solvent used for cleaning resin components.

By: Joyce Khoo
+65 6780 4359

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