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20 Dec 2005  -  Japan / France

Toray to expand production capacity of "TORAYCA" carbon fiber composite material in Europe

Toray Industries, Inc.  announced its decision to expand production capacity of its PAN-based carbon fiber "TORAYCA" in Europe, in order to respond to the mid- to long-term growth in demand for carbon fiber composite materials. The company plans to build one more line of carbonization facility with capacity of 800 tons per year at its carbon fiber production and sales subsidiary based in Abidos, France. The new facility is scheduled to start operation in August 2007. The total investment will be about 8 billion yen, including the investment for expanding capacity of PAN precursor production facility at its Ehime plant (Masaki-cho, Ehime prefecture). After this expansion, carbon fiber production capacity of SOFICAR will increase to 3,400 tons per year (currently 2,600 tons per year) and Toray Group's production capacity is expected to expand to 13,900 tons a year in August 2007.

This planned expansion in production capacity is aimed at enhancing the group's supply structure for secondary structural elements used in aircraft applications, whose demand is expected to surge mainly in Europe and for "thin carbon fiber" (very fine carbon fiber made up of 3,000 or 6,000 single threads) for general industrial use. Toray had gained approval for its thin carbon fiber and has been supplying the material as secondary structural elements (ex: flaps, spoilers in main wings, etc.) for aircraft applications from early on. Demands for such materials have been steadily expanding buoyed by recent recovery of the production rate of the aircraft. At the same time, fabrics made of thin carbon fibers have been gaining new applications in industrial and sports applications, such as industrial robots as well as automobile parts and bicycle frames that require ability to handle highly sophisticated designs, by taking advantage of its draping features and superior process ability. As a result, the balance of supply and demand for thin carbon fibers has become even tighter.

As of 2005, the global demand for PAN-based carbon fibers is estimated at approximately 25,000 tons a year. The demand is expected to grow at a rate exceeding 10% a year, reaching 34,000 tons in 2008. In order to quickly respond to the full-fledged expansion in the carbon fiber market and to reinforce its commitment to build a stable supply structure, Toray, as a first step, has earlier embarked on a series of large-scale investments mainly in "thick carbon fibers" (12,000 filaments as well as 24,000 filaments) that are widely used in applications ranging from primary structural elements for aircrafts to industrial use. These investments include the new facilities at SOFICAR that started operation in October 2004 and the facilities at CFA in the U.S. starting operation in early 2006 followed by those at its Ehime Plant expected to go into operation in early 2007. The announced enhancement in capacity this time is aimed at further promoting its strategic expansion of the carbon fiber composite material business by strengthening the production system for thin carbon fibers.

As part of issues and reforms addressed under the mid-term management initiatives "Project NT-II," Toray currently is promoting growth and strengthening of "Expansion of Advanced Materials Businesses" and "Expanding and Reinforcing Global No.1 Businesses." The strategy announced this time to expand the carbon fiber/composite materials business is based on these "offensive" management policies.

Source : Toray Industries