09.07.23
Osaka, Japan
www.toray.com
2022 Nonwovens Sales: $1.023 billion
Key Personnel
Makoto Nishimura, general manager, Nonwoven and Advanced Fiber Materials Div. (Toray); Seo Jin Park, senior managing director, chief of SB Business Div. (Toray Advanced Materials Korea); Tatsu Matsushita, general manager, Performance Nonwoven Products Dept. (Toray)
Plants
Shiga and Ehime, Japan; Gumi, Korea; Nantong and Foshan, China; Jakarta, Indonesia: Sri City, India
Processes
Spunbond, wetlaid paper, fibers for needlepunch and spunlace
Brand Names
Livsen, Axtar, Torcon, Gulfeng, Tetoron
Major Markets
Hygiene, industrial filtration, civil engineering & construction, face mask, automotive
Reporting an unbalanced supply-to-demand ratio in 2022 was Toray Industries. Particularly noting that the spunbond nonwovens market was in oversupply due to sluggish birth rates in China, the Asian nonwovens producer reports that high sales prices were not enough to offset raw material price increases, resulting in a decrease in profit. However, the company remains optimistic for the future thanks to potential in India and the ASEAN region, where it currently has operations.
Toray currently makes 231,0000 tons of nonwovens per years at its sites in China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India. The largest percentage of output is currently made in China where the company has two sites in Nantong and Foshan, which together make 93,000 tons of nonwovens per year. The company’s most recent Chinese investment, in Foshan, was completed in 2018, adding 20,000 tons of capacity.
Outside of China, Toray makes 10,000 tons of nonwovens in Japan, 73,000 tons in Korea, 18,000 tons in India and 37,000 tons in Indonesia. The majority of its output is polypropylene spunbond nonwovens for hygiene applications but it also makes some polyester-based fabrics for industrial filters.
Its most recent investment, a spunbond operation in Sri City, India, was started in 2018 but not complete until 2021 due to Coronavirus-related delays. The factory contains a polypropylene spunbond plant mainly targeting disposable diaper applications. The 85-acre tract of land also contains an engineered plastics resin compounding plant that makes raw materials for electrical components of automobiles and in electrical and electronic connectors. Having operations in so many Asian countries has proven beneficial to growth, particularly during challenging times.
“We expect India and ASEAN to grow as markets. In China, the largest market, we assume that the needs for high-functional nonwoven fabrics will grow in all fields. We think there are many market opportunities in the sustainability-related field represented by EVs,” spokesman Taira Kuwosawa says.
After a period of significant expansion in Asia, the company is not making any firm plans for future expansion and is instead weighing market growth opportunities in Asia. In the meantime, Toray is focusing on sustainability. Among its many efforts in this area is a reduction of plastic use in polyproplyene spunbond nonwovens, primarily through lower basis weights and the use of sustainable raw materials. Toray Group has also accelerated its efforts to convert raw materials and pellets to bio-based materials, material/chemical recycling and CO2 resources in all its businesses.
Within nonwoven fabrics, Toray is promoting the use of recycled and bio-based raw materials and focusing on the development of new materials that reduce the amount of plastic used while maintaining the same functions and performance. For example, Axtar PF nonwovens eliminates the adhesive point embossed pattern of spunbond, so the surface of the fabric is flat without any unevenness. This makes it highly printable and is aimed at replacing paper.
www.toray.com
2022 Nonwovens Sales: $1.023 billion
Key Personnel
Makoto Nishimura, general manager, Nonwoven and Advanced Fiber Materials Div. (Toray); Seo Jin Park, senior managing director, chief of SB Business Div. (Toray Advanced Materials Korea); Tatsu Matsushita, general manager, Performance Nonwoven Products Dept. (Toray)
Plants
Shiga and Ehime, Japan; Gumi, Korea; Nantong and Foshan, China; Jakarta, Indonesia: Sri City, India
Processes
Spunbond, wetlaid paper, fibers for needlepunch and spunlace
Brand Names
Livsen, Axtar, Torcon, Gulfeng, Tetoron
Major Markets
Hygiene, industrial filtration, civil engineering & construction, face mask, automotive
Reporting an unbalanced supply-to-demand ratio in 2022 was Toray Industries. Particularly noting that the spunbond nonwovens market was in oversupply due to sluggish birth rates in China, the Asian nonwovens producer reports that high sales prices were not enough to offset raw material price increases, resulting in a decrease in profit. However, the company remains optimistic for the future thanks to potential in India and the ASEAN region, where it currently has operations.
Toray currently makes 231,0000 tons of nonwovens per years at its sites in China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India. The largest percentage of output is currently made in China where the company has two sites in Nantong and Foshan, which together make 93,000 tons of nonwovens per year. The company’s most recent Chinese investment, in Foshan, was completed in 2018, adding 20,000 tons of capacity.
Outside of China, Toray makes 10,000 tons of nonwovens in Japan, 73,000 tons in Korea, 18,000 tons in India and 37,000 tons in Indonesia. The majority of its output is polypropylene spunbond nonwovens for hygiene applications but it also makes some polyester-based fabrics for industrial filters.
Its most recent investment, a spunbond operation in Sri City, India, was started in 2018 but not complete until 2021 due to Coronavirus-related delays. The factory contains a polypropylene spunbond plant mainly targeting disposable diaper applications. The 85-acre tract of land also contains an engineered plastics resin compounding plant that makes raw materials for electrical components of automobiles and in electrical and electronic connectors. Having operations in so many Asian countries has proven beneficial to growth, particularly during challenging times.
“We expect India and ASEAN to grow as markets. In China, the largest market, we assume that the needs for high-functional nonwoven fabrics will grow in all fields. We think there are many market opportunities in the sustainability-related field represented by EVs,” spokesman Taira Kuwosawa says.
After a period of significant expansion in Asia, the company is not making any firm plans for future expansion and is instead weighing market growth opportunities in Asia. In the meantime, Toray is focusing on sustainability. Among its many efforts in this area is a reduction of plastic use in polyproplyene spunbond nonwovens, primarily through lower basis weights and the use of sustainable raw materials. Toray Group has also accelerated its efforts to convert raw materials and pellets to bio-based materials, material/chemical recycling and CO2 resources in all its businesses.
Within nonwoven fabrics, Toray is promoting the use of recycled and bio-based raw materials and focusing on the development of new materials that reduce the amount of plastic used while maintaining the same functions and performance. For example, Axtar PF nonwovens eliminates the adhesive point embossed pattern of spunbond, so the surface of the fabric is flat without any unevenness. This makes it highly printable and is aimed at replacing paper.
