Tokyo, Japan—Tosoh has started a renovation project at its main manufacturing and R&D Complex in Nanyo, Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The project will include new research facilities and a modernized main gate area, including construction of a new main building.
The project has the following three specific goals in the interest of enhancing the capabilities of the Nanyo Complex:
- Constructing new research laboratories to strengthen Tosoh’s specialty products R&D capabilities
- Renovating the main gate area to replace the obsolete main building and other main gate features
- Strengthening Tosoh’s business continuity plan (BCP)
Overview of principal facilities
| | New research laboratories | New main building |
| Floor area | About 10,000 m2 | About 5,000 m2 |
| Structure | Four floors | Four floors |
| Construction start | August 2018 | June 2017 |
| Construction completion | October 2019 | June 2018 |
| Capital spending | About ¥11.0 billion
(inclusive of R&D equipment, a facilities management building, disaster prevention center, etc.) |
Key Project Points:
1. New research laboratories
The construction of research laboratories at Nanyo Complex will consolidate in one location laboratories that to date are dispersed in four locations (see accompanying table). This will heighten the efficiency of the complex’s R&D, chiefly by improving the functionality of its laboratories through proximity and the better leveraging of the synergies among the technologies being worked on at the various laboratories. Also a high priority is constructing modern R&D facilities free of the safety hazards typical to aging facilities.
Nanyo Complex is the R&D center for Tosoh’s specialty products business. As such, the company’s Inorganic Materials and Organic Materials Research Laboratories are located in the vicinity. Both facilities, though, were built over 40 years ago and are in need of seismic and other upgrades. Tosoh intends to replace them with new laboratories within the Nanyo Complex that will serve as development bases for the mid- to long-term growth of the company’s specialty products business.
These and the other new laboratories at Nanyo Complex will increase coordination between technology themes through functional consolidation. The improved R&D that they facilitate of new applications and materials will be further advanced through expanded bench test facilities and clean rooms and the introduction of other state-of-the-art R&D-related facilities.
2. New main building and main gate area
The main entrance, main entrance building, and other entrance facilities were built more than 50 years ago. The company will construct a new main entrance building and renovate the surrounding facilities in support of its BCP.
The new main entrance building, moreover, will enable the company to consolidate under one roof the technology center and the environmental safety and quality assurance departments that have to date been scattered throughout Nanyo Complex.
This project and that of constructing new laboratories within the complex will raise convenience, efficiency, functionality, and safety.
Get the full release and accompanying overview of the laboratories and technology center here.
TOSOH CORPORATION
WHO WE ARE
Tosoh is the parent of the Tosoh Group, which comprises over 100 companies worldwide and a multiethnic workforce of over 12,000 people and generated net sales of ¥743.0 billion (US$6.9 billion at the average rate of ¥108.35 to the US dollar) in fiscal 2017, ended March 31, 2017.
WHAT WE DO
Tosoh is one of the largest chlor-alkali manufacturers in Asia. The company supplies the plastic resins and an array of the basic chemicals that support modern life. Tosoh’s petrochemical operations supply ethylene, polyethylene, and functional polymers, while its advanced materials business serves the global semiconductor, display, and solar industries. Tosoh has also pioneered sophisticated bioscience systems that are used for the monitoring of life-threatening diseases. In addition, Tosoh demonstrates its commitment to a sustainable future in part by manufacturing a variety of eco-products.
Stock Exchange Ticker Symbol: 4042
DISCLAIMER
This document may contain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning product development, objectives, goals, and commercial introductions, which involve certain risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are identified through the use of the word anticipates and other words of similar meaning. Actual results may differ significantly from the results expressed in forward-looking statements.