News

Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Fumio Ito; "Kuraray") has announced its decision to expand production facilities of optical-use poval film, which serves as a base film for polarized film, an essential component of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), at its Saijo Plant (Saijo, Ehime, Japan). Details are given below.

Background to Facility Expansion

  • The LCD market is experiencing steady growth owing to the global prevalence of LCD TVs, and optical-use poval film is demonstrating growing demand.
  • In anticipation of increasing future demand, Kuraray has deemed it necessary to expand its production facilities to maintain the stable supply system.

Outline of Facility Expansion

Location Kuraray Co., Ltd., Saijo Plant, 892, Tsuitachi, Saijo, Ehime, Japan
Production capacity 20 million m2/year
Commencement of operations First quarter of fiscal 2012 (scheduled)
Capital investment approx. ¥5 billion

Future Schemes

As a leading company in optical-use poval film, Kuraray will consider further upgrades to production facilities at both its Saijo and Kurashiki plants while monitoring demand trends in the LCD market.

Production Capacity of Existing Equipment

We are modifying equipment to steadily enhance production capacity and have raised annual production capacity from 136 million m2 to 160 million m2.

Reference Materials

LCD Structural Diagram (Simplified), Polarized Film Structural Diagram (Simplified)

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