Japan's Zeon opens first synthetic rubber plant in Singapore

Japan’s Zeon Corporation (4205.T), which makes and sells synthetic rubber, has opened its first synthetic rubber plant in Singapore, the company said on Thursday.

 

The solution polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) plant at Jurong Island, Singapore, will meet the rising demand in Asia for environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient tires, Zeon said.

“The investment will take Zeon one step nearer to our goal of more than tripling our SSBR sales to US$422 million ($508 million) annually by 2020,” said Naozumi Furukawa, Zeon’s president and chief executive, in a statement.

 

The Jurong plant will commence production in two phases - in mid-July 2013 with a capacity of 30,000 to 40,000 metric tonnes a year, and in the first half of 2016 with capacity of another 30,000 to 40,000 metric tonnes a year, Zeon said.