Tosoh (Guangzhou) Chemical Industries
Celebrates the Launch of Business Operations in China
On December 13, 2007, Tosoh held the opening ceremony to mark the launch of operations for its new 220,000-metric-ton-per-year polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin plant in Guangzhou, China. The new plant, Tosoh (Guangzhou) Chemical Industries, Inc. (TGC), will serve as Tosoh’s production base for PVC in China. Tosoh’s stake in the venture is 67%, and its investment is estimated at approximately ¥8 billion. Tosoh is not new to Asia when it comes to PVC, with production bases already established in the Philippines and in Indonesia.
The gala event marking the opening of TGC brought together approximately 250 guests, including top management from TGC stakeholders Tosoh, Mitsubishi Trading, Mitsui Bussan, and Marubeni, as well as government leaders and other representatives from Japan and Hong Kong and of course elsewhere from China.
An address by the chairman and CEO of Tosoh, Madoka Tashiro, stressed the vision of creating a base for PVC production in the region while striving to contribute to the development of the PVC industry through a new partnership with China. Susumu Kadowaki, the president of TGC, focused in his address on his aim of establishing an enterprise that will make a substantial contribution to the region.
PVC production in China represents only a part of Tosoh’s second-phase expansion of its core business, its vinyl isocyanate chain.* But with the addition of TGC to its PVC production facilities, Tosoh’s overall annual PVC production capacity, including that in Japan (Taiyo Vinyl Corporation), Indonesia, and the Philippines, exceeds one million metric tons, consolidating the Company’s position among Asia’s leading suppliers of PVC.
TGC, meanwhile, will utilize cost-effective VCM from Tosoh’s Nanyo Complex in Japan in its manufacture of PVC. The Nanyo Complex is the heart of Tosoh and its vinyl chain operations. It boasts a world-class infrastructure and some of the largest facilities in Japan. The Nanyo Complex’s power-generation plant, for example, is on par with domestic electric power companies, and its port is designed to dock extremely large ships.
TGC is introducing energy conservation and emission reduction initiatives in order to contribute the recycling of resources as part of an overall commitment to social responsibility. Tosoh (Guangzhou) Chemical Industries believes that trust and support of customers will serve as the backbone to mutual development while contributing to the regional economy in China.
*Through an increased stake in Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co., Ltd. (NPU), Tosoh is broadening the scope of its vinyl chain operations. The vinyl chain refers to a sequence of integrated manufacturing operations that produce several key vinyl-related chemicals from the basic commodities chlorine and ethylene. Integrated processing facilities will supply chlorine for the production of isocyanates at NPU, and reciprocally Tosoh will receive hydrogen chloride to be used in the process that converts ethylene dichloride (EDC) to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). In this way, the vinyl isocyanate chain serves as the infrastructure for the production of isocyanates (raw materials for polyurethane) while making better use of resources and generating further cost savings. For more information on Tosoh’s technology and manufacturing processes, please see the Company’s 2007 annual report.