On 26 December 2018, the joint venture Kuraray GC Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. announced that it will invest in a butadiene derivatives plant at the WHA Eastern Industrial Estate (Map Ta Phut Complex), Rayong Province, Thailand.
The company is a joint venture of Kuraray Co., Ltd., PTT Global Chemical Public Company Ltd. (PTTGC) and Sumitomo Corporation. Kuraray holds a majority share of 53.3 %, while PTT and Sumitomo hold minority shares of 33.4 % and 13.3 %, respectively. The three companies have been carrying out a feasibility study for the manufacturing and sale of butadiene derivatives in Thailand since September 2016.
The plant will comprise facilities for the production of 13,000 t/y high heat resistant polyamide-9T (PA9T) as well as 16,000 t/y hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBC). In addition, Kuraray announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Kuraray Advanced Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd. will solely construct production facilities for 5,000 t/y 3-Methyl-1.5-Pentanediol (MPD) adjacent to the above-mentioned plant. Kuraray will invest approximately JPY 40 billion (~ EUR 321 million) in the new site. Completion of construction is scheduled for the end of 2021.