Toray to Increase Production Capacity of Polypropylene Film TORAYFAN®at U.S. Subsidiary

Toray Industries, Inc.

　Toray Industries, Inc. (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Akihiro Nikkaku; hereinafter referred to as "Toray") today announced that it decided to increase the production capacity of its polypropylene film TORAYFAN® manufactured by Toray Plastics (America), Inc. (head office: Rhode Island, U.S.; President: Michael F. Brandmeier; hereinafter referred to as “TPA”). A production facility with annual capacity of 30,000 tons will be additionally built at TPA’s Rhode Island Plant (Rhode Island, U.S.), which aims to start operation in 2020.

　TORAYFAN® is the lightest among plastic films and it is superior in transparency, toughness and aroma retaining property. It is widely used for general industrial applications, capacitors and packaging materials and TPA has a high share in the North American market for high value-added packaging materials.

　The biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) market in North America is estimated to grow at a pace of 3% a year given the future population growth. In the food packaging film market in particular, there is an increasing push towards longer shelf life for food stuff and diversification of package designs for snacks, confections and health foods such as nutrition bars. 　The production capacity increase announced this time in response to such diversification and sophistication of customer needs and the company aims to further expand the business by enhancing the production capacity at TPA early on.

　Toray is promoting the Expansion and Advancement of Global Business as one of the basic strategies of the medium-term management program Project AP-G 2019, and the TORAYFAN® capacity increase is part of the strategy. Further, under the corporate philosophy of “Contributing to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies and products,” the Toray Group is determined to vigorously propel the business expansion with the aim of achieving sustained growth in the growing business fields and areas.

 

<Profile of Toray Plastics (America), Inc. (TPA)>
1.	Name	:	Toray Plastics (America), Inc. (TPA)
2.	Business	:	manufacture and distribution of OPP films, PET films and polyolefin foam
3.	Location	:	Rhode Island, U.S.
4.	Established	:	May 1985 (the company name changed in February 1989)
5.	Capitalization	:	238 million USD (investment: Toray Industries (America), Inc. 100%)
6.	Representatives	:	President Michael F. Brandmeier Executive Vice President Ken Kurokawa
7.	Number of employees	:	706 (as of the end of March 2018)
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