Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Masayuki Waga) hereby announces the expansion of polyester film production capacity at its affiliate, Mitsubishi Polyester Film GmbH (MFE; Location: Wiesbaden, Germany; President: Thomas Hehl). MCC will invest approximately 110 million euros in a new production line, which is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2024. This is the third investment by MCC in the global polyester film business since 2018. It follows the opening of a new production line in South Carolina USA in 2018 and an investment in a new production line in Jakarta, Indonesia, with planned start up in 2022.
MCC is strong in its technological development capabilities for customizing high performance polyester films for industrial and labeling applications to meet customer needs and holds significant market share in Europe. In recent years, the global market growth rate for polyester film has been about 5%, and MFE has responded to growing customer demand by procuring polyester film from other MCC Group companies while efficiently operating existing facilities.
As demand is expected to grow steadily in the future, MCC will install this new production line at MFE with a capacity of 27,000 tons/year, establishing it as one of the world’s largest production facilities for high performance polyester films.
The new production line, which will be equipped with the latest energy-saving equipment, aims to reduce CO2 emissions for the entire plant, while expanding production capacity. In addition, by introducing equipment that can recycle polyester film collected from customers and consumers as raw materials, the new production line will help to accelerate MCC’s efforts to realize a circular economy.
MCC manufactures polyester film at manufacturing sites in Japan, China, Indonesia, the United States and Germany for use in optical applications for displays, industrial applications such as electronic components, automotive, and medical care, and packaging material applications. MCC will continue to expand its production capacity to meet demand for each product application, actively developing its businesses as a leading company of high-performance polyester films, while contributing to the achievement of SDGs and the realization of a circular economy.
