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Ube Ending Sakai Caprolactam Output; Designating Site to Specialty Products:: 13 Feb 2013 :: Tokyo - Ube Industries has made the decision to cease production of caprolactam at its Sakai complex in Japan "after a fixed period of time, and dismantle the facili-ties." With the global economic slowdown, growth in caprolactam demand has weakened while market condi-tions for caprolactam have been heavily eroded by the entry of new manufacturers and successive production expansion of existing producers centering on Chinese companies, Ube explained. At the same time, prices for raw material benzene and auxiliary materials have risen, with the net effect being that the profitability of the caprolactam business has rapidly declined. Ube, which has four caprolactam production facilities, noted that the 100,000-t/y Sakai site is the least competitive, due to high manufacturing costs based on the production technologies used, and facilities for auxiliary materials and steam utilities that are dependent on liquefied natural gas. The company said it has examined various ways to improve the profitability of the site, but the prospects at Sakai "are dim." Along with the decision to end caprolactam production, Ube plans to discontinue production at the Sakai complex of related derivatives ammonia (200,000 t/y), liquefied carbon dioxide (99,000 t/y), ammonium sulfate (160,000 t/y) and 1,6-hexanediol (5,000 t/y). These units will also be dismantled. Thereafter, the Sakai site will be dedicated mainly to value-added specialty products. |
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