News

Kuraray Co., Ltd. announces the establishment of a CLARINO TIRRENINA ("TIRRENINA") commercial production facility with an annual production capacity of five million square meters at its Okayama Plant (Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture). Kuraray's decision to construct the new production facility is based on the results of two years of marketing activities focusing on this next-generation, eco-friendly man-made leather fabricated using an environment-friendly process and boasting an appearance and texture like natural leather along with the excellent functionality unique to man-made leather.

The new innovative production system CATS(*) developed by Kuraray will be used for TIRRENINA production. This system (1) does not use organic solvent in the manufacturing process and thus produces significantly fewer volatile organic compounds (VOC) while enabling a 30% or more reduction of CO₂ emissions due to a shortened production process (compared with Kuraray's conventional products); (2) creates a quality product with a pleasurable feel and good appearance much closer to natural leather than the conventional products owing to newly developed ultra-fine fibers and manufacturing process; and (3) will enable the Company to develop and participate in potential new markets thanks to the product's higher functionality and high-strength properties. Backed by these advantages, Kuraray will expand the product applications for both grain and suede types.

With this capital investment, Kuraray has established its third next-generation production facility, the others being joint venture-run facilities in Japan and China. Fully exercising and leveraging the synergies created among the three facilities, Kuraray will proactively develop its man-made leather business as the core of its fibers and textiles business while playing its role as a leading man-made leather company.

• * CATS (Clarino Advanced Technology Systems)
  A production system integrating diverse elemental technologies developed with the aim of marking the second inauguration of the man-made leather business. By completely renovating the conventional process, this system realized environmental friendliness, high product quality and superior texture.
  (Patent application: 67 in Japan and 11 overseas)