Notice regarding Cessation of Polyacetal Production at Yokkaichi Plant

　Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (MGC; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Masashi Fujii) announces that it will cease production of polyacetal (POM) at its Yokkaichi Plant (Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture) by the end of September 2023. The plant has an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons.

　POM is an engineering plastic with excellent resistance to abrasion, creep, fatigue, and chemicals, and it is widely used in the manufacture of car parts, electronic equipment, and precision instruments. In addition to the Yokkaichi Plant, MGC has production facilities in Thailand, South Korea and China, supplying high-quality POM to the world under the brand name Iupital.

　The Yokkaichi Plant has been producing POM for 40 years, starting production in 1981. However, owing to the plant’s small size and the deterioration of its facilities, we have struggled to keep it sustainable. Therefore, we have decided to consolidate production at MGC’s base in Thailand and develop our POM business there with a more feasible supply system.

　Customers who are currently using products from the Yokkaichi Plant will instead be supplied by our plant in Thailand, and we are reviewing options to ramp up production at the Thailand base to meet the strong demand for POM.

　The cessation of production at the Yokkaichi Plant is part of broader measures designed to strengthen the business following the restructuring of our Korean POM business announced on December 9, 2020.

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