Twaron Aramid capacity to grow more than 25%

Teijin Aramid intends to increase production capacity for its Twaron fibre by more than 25 per cent. This additional capacity will become fully available by the end of 2022.

Demand for Twaron is continually increasing, and Teijin Aramid says the market outlook is positive. Growing the aramid business is one of the Teijin Group’s key strategies, with an anticipated annual growth rate of eight per cent. The company’s aim is to eventually hold a greater than 50 per cent market share, and while it hasn’t disclosed how much it is investing in the abovementioned capacity increase, it talks of implementing “several substantial investments” to achieve its market share goal. Measures that will be undertaken to increase capacity include installing the latest production technologies.

“This new investment in increased capacity will help us, as market leader, to meet market demand, anyplace and anytime,” says Gert Frederiks, chief executive officer and president of Teijin Aramid. “It’s our strategy to continuously invest in both optimising our production facilities and in increasing our Twaron capacity. This will enable us to provide our customers with best-value products, in the right quantity, the right quality, and at the best price. Combined with our long history of knowledge and expertise in aramid fibres, this will place us in an excellent position to serve the world market.”

By introducing lean methodology and internal optimisation programmes, Teijin Aramid has been able to increase its Twaron production capacity by 130 per cent since 1999. The company states it is “determined to keep up this best-practice way of working,” and intends to “continuously invest in its factories, implement the latest technologies, and ensure economy of scale.” This will enable Teijin Aramid to keep pace with market demand and market competitiveness, while meeting its customers’ requirements.

Teijin Aramid is currently implementing a new spinning technology at its Twaron facility in Emmen, the Netherlands, a measure announced in July 2017. The extra capacity of that investment will become available as of May 2018.