| Oct. 9, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Toray to Establish “Automotive Center” in Nagoya - To strengthen and expand development of automobile applications; the first step toward transformation of Nagoya Plant’s functions - |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Toray Industries, Inc. (headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Sadayuki Sakakibara; hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) has announced that it made a decision to establish an “Automotive Center (AMC)” at its Nagoya Plant (Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture) as a first step under the basic concept to convert the plant into the Company’s stronghold for “automobile and aircraft” applications as part of its efforts to facilitate Toray Group’s transformation into a highly profitable corporate group by expanding its advanced materials business. The Company plans to invest roughly 2.5 billion yen in the Automotive Center and the center is expected to open in June 2008. In October 2006, the Company embarked on the new mid-term business strategy “Project Innovation TORAY 2010 (IT-2010)” aimed at transforming itself into a highly profitable corporate group through realization of “Innovations (innovation and creation)” and has been driving forward the “expansion of advanced materials in four major growing business fields”, which is one of basic strategies of IT-2010. The center is being established to step up the company-wide efforts targeting the “automobiles and aircraft” field, which is one of the core business areas and the move is aimed at providing cross-organizational solutions to customers. The “Automotive Center” is established to further advance the cross-organizational measures aimed at automobile manufacturers and auto parts manufacturers promoted by the “Automotive Material Strategic Planning Department”, which was established in January 2006, and significantly enhance the Company’s capability in development of advanced materials for automobile applications. Amid increasing importance attached to environmental and energy conservation features in automobiles, both automobile manufacturers and auto parts manufacturers are focusing on hybrid vehicles, clean diesels, biological materials and fuels, etc. Furthermore, as safety and comfort of automobiles improves and integration of IT and electronics advances, the needs for new functions have started emerging, leading to rapid technological innovations. Given such business environment, the Company came to realize the necessity to integrate Toray Group’s abundant advanced materials and technological resources and further promote development in tandem with its customers in order to respond to such requirements from the automobile industry, leading to the establishment of the “Automotive Center.” By leveraging the “Automotive Center,” the Company will promote vertical development of existing technologies and expand the business by responding to the global production needs of Japanese automobile manufacturers in the short-term, while driving forward the development of advanced materials and technologies along with changes in the automobile industry to acquire and create new demands in the medium- to long-term. Through such undertakings, the Company aims to expand sales of the automobile application business to 350 billion yen in 2015 compared with 124 billion yen in 2006. Going forward, the Company plans to continue promoting the transformation of Nagoya Plant’s functions to make it into the core plant catering to the “automobiles and aircraft” field. By concentrating its development and manufacturing functions in the Chukyo industrial area where the automobile and aircraft industries are showing marked growths, the Company hopes to exploit the Nagoya Plant’s geographical advantage of operating in the vicinity of important customers to the maximum extent in order to strengthen and expand advanced materials development for automobile and aircraft applications. Subsequent to the establishment of the “Automotive Center,” the Company plans to newly establish “Advanced Composite Center (tentative name)” and transfer the technological development functions related to composites (carbon fiber composite material molded components) from the Ehime Plant (Masaki-cho, Ehime Prefecture) and Shiga Plant (Otsu, Shiga Prefecture) to it, and then combine it with the “Resin Applications Development Center” to create “A&A Center (Automotive & Aircraft Center),” an integrated technological development base for automobile and aircraft applications. Meanwhile, the Company is also reviewing its manufacturing functions and plans to successively establish production system for resins, carbon fiber composite materials and high-performance chemical products. The structural reform of Nagoya Plant is expected to be completed in 2010 with a total investment amounting to approximately 20 billion yen. Profile of the “Automotive Center” (AMC) 1. Functions: As a forum for joint development with our customers, the “Automotive Center” shall have the following four functions:
2. Priority themes: The Center shall promote technological development with focus on the following themes that are expected to contribute significantly to environmental and energy issues. In order to especially promote the expansion of application of the Company’s carbon fiber composite materials, the global leader, in the automobile field and make contributions to weight-saving efforts, the Company plans to combine the materials with resin, which is one of the leading materials for automobile applications, to promote the development of technologies such as outer panel, exterior and quasi-structure based on thermoplastic composites that are highly recyclable.
3. Main facilities: When the Center opens, it will be installed with facilities necessary for establishing weight saving technologies. The Center plans to add other facilities as needed depending on subsequent themes. In the future, the Center will drive forward development by complementing its facilities with those under the departments of the “A&A Center” to be established later. The major facilities include the following:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
# # # |
 |
||
 |
|
Back to News Index |
