Kuraray Co. Ltd recently announced a decision to optimize the production capacity of its methacrylic resin business’ methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant. Additionally, the company announced that the production and sales volumes for MMA and some other downstream products will be reduced from July 2025 as a result of this change.

Facility Costs

Kuraray reports that since 1959, its Niigata Plant has been manufacturing MMA and methacrylic resins and other such products that are downstream in the methacrylate chain. In recent years, however, the competitive structure of the market has deteriorated due to changes resulting in an ongoing oversupply. At the same time, the company reports that maintenance and renewal costs have increased due to the aging of facilities, making the business environment more challenging.

To secure profitable business continuity and a stable supply of products into the future, the company concluded that in order to strengthen competitiveness, it should optimize the product mix by reducing production capacity while bringing down the cost of facility antiaging measures.

Production Capacity and Supply System

For MMA, the company plans to halve the current production capacity of 67,000 tons/year and cease external sales. For downstream products, it plans to reduce production capacity of ammonium sulfate and methacrylic resin molding materials. The company also reported that there will be no changes for methacrylic acid (MAA) and methacrylic resin sheet.

Implementation Period

The company reports that its tentative implementation period is from July 2025. The Kuraray Group has positioned the upgrading of its business portfolio as a key measure in its medium-term management plan, PASSION 2026, and is proceeding with the focused allocation of resources to core businesses and identification of businesses to be downsized or divested. The group reports that it will continue to reconfigure its business and product mix while giving due consideration to social and environmental value and economic value, thereby building a more sophisticated portfolio.

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