Kuraray, PTT, and Sumitomo will establish a JV in Thailand for the production of butadiene derivatives. With Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate (Map Ta Phut Complex), Rayong in Thailand, as the candidate of the production site, the JV will manufacture and sell high heat resistant polyamide-9T (PA9T) and hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBC). The name of the JV will be Kuraray GC Advanced Materials Co., Ltd.
Kuraray holds a majority share of 53.3 %, while PTT and Sumitomo hold minority shares of 33.4 % and 13.3 % respectively. Kuraray said that it also plans to solely carry out production of 5,000 t/y of 3-methyl-1.5-pentanediol (MPD) at a facility to be built on the same premises as the facility for the butadiene derivatives. Kuraray will establish a wholly-owned subsidiary for the manufacturing and sale of the MPD under the name Kuraray Advanced Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Both companies will be headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, and will be led by Hiroshi Yamamoto.