Sumitomo Chemical To Build Synthetic Rubber Plant In Singapore

Petrochemical manufacturer Sumitomo Chemical is building a new solution styrene-butadiene rubber manufacturing plant for high-performance and fuel-efficient tires in Singapore.

AsianScientist (Feb. 8, 2012) – This Monday, petrochemical manufacturer Sumitomo Chemical held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) manufacturing plant to be constructed in Singapore.

The ceremony was attended by Eugene Leong, Deputy Director of the Singapore’s Economic Development Board, and Heah Soon Poh, Director at the JTC Corporation, among others.

Later that day, the afternoon reception was attended by Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry; Yoichi Suzuki, the Japanese ambassador to Singapore; Leo Yip, Chairman of Singapore’s Economic Development Board; and Manohar Khiatani, CEO of JTC Corporation.

The new plant, located at the Merbau area on Jurong Island, has a production capacity of 40,000 tons per annum, and uses solution polymerization to produce styrene-butadiene rubber for high-performance and fuel-efficient tires.

Amid increasingly strict worldwide regulations on automobile fuel consumption, S-SBR is seeing rapid demand growth as a raw material for high-performance, fuel-efficient tires, said Sumitomo Chemical.

In November 2010, the company decided to construct the new S-SBR plant in Singapore because of its geographical advantage in Asia, stable procurement of the raw material butadiene, as well as existing tie-ups with the Sumitomo Chemical Group.

Construction work commenced in January 2012 upon the completion of land reclamation at the site, and the facility is scheduled for completion in June 2013. Commercial operations are planned to begin during the fourth quarter of 2013.

An additional plant is already being planned as part of the company’s future expansion plans.

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Source: Sumitomo Chemical Asia Pte. Ltd.
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