Asahi Rubber to install industrial rubber equipment at Shirakawa Factory
Materials & chemicalsFukushima
Asahi Rubber plans to invest in industrial rubber-related equipment at its Shirakawa Factory in Shirakawa, Fukushima. Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2026 and finish in February 2027, increasing capacity by 6%.
TOPPAN group's Italian film manufacturer Irplast has installed a new production line using Bruckner's LISIM simultaneous biaxial-stretching technology to produce high-function BOPP film for recyclable monomaterial packaging. The new line is intended to strengthen global supply, with commercial production targeted by the second half of 2026; total plant capacity will reach up to 30,000 tonnes per year.
Tokyo Ohka Kogyo has completed the first-phase Pyeongtaek plant operated by its Korean subsidiary, TOK Advanced Materials, in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The facility includes a high-purity chemicals production building, warehouse and ancillary facilities, and is scheduled to begin operations in the first half of 2027 to supply semiconductor customers locally.
Tokuyama will install new production equipment at its Advanced Technology Commercialization Center in Yanai, Yamaguchi, to increase aluminum nitride powder production capacity by approximately 30% from current levels. The facility is scheduled to begin commercial operation in April 2028, supporting demand from semiconductor manufacturing equipment components and thermal-management materials amid growing AI-related investment.
Mitsubishi Materials will invest approximately ¥8 billion to upgrade hydrometallurgical and recycling equipment at its subsidiary Japan New Metals' Akita Plant, nearly doubling ammonium paratungstate (APT) production capacity to 2,400 tons per year. The project supports domestic tungsten resource circulation and reduces Japan's import dependence on the critical mineral.
ADEKA will build a new manufacturing plant for its high-performance TRANSPAREX clarifying agent at the third plant of subsidiary ADEKA KOREA CORPORATION in Wanju County, South Korea. The plant will be built in surplus space at an existing semiconductor-materials facility to secure supply as demand expands; construction is scheduled to run from December 2026 to June 2028, with operations beginning in November 2028.