9 August, 2024 16:22:40 IST 
Japanese chemicals firm, Nippon Shokubai, is expanding capacity of its superabsorbent polymers (SAP) plant operated by its Indonesian arm, PT. Nippon Shokubai Indonesia (NSI), by 50,000 metric tons per year (tpa) to a total of 140,000-tpa. The expansion, involving investment of around $110-mn, is expected to be operationalised by July 2027.
SAP, one of Nippon Shokubai’s core businesses, has seen steady growth in demand as a key material for diapers globally, particularly in the regions where the populations are anticipated to increase rapidly.
Nippon Shokubai manufactures SAP as well as its key raw material, acrylic acid at the Indonesian facility. In May last year, the company had expanded NSI’s acrylic acid production capacity by 100,000-tpa to a total of 240,000-tpa.
The company said the decision to expand SAP capacity will help take advantages of its “strength from the vertically integrated production from acrylic acid to SAP to meet the strong demand growth in Asian region and the expectation for synergistic effect with the existing plant”.
Nippon Shokubai said it is also considering stopping some of its old SAP facilities with relatively low productivity in Himeji (Japan) to optimise its global SAP supply network in future.
