Groundbreaking ceremony of Mitsui Chemicals new Alpha-Olefin Copolymer plant

Mitsui Elastomers Singapore Pte. Ltd. (MELS), 100% owned by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.(MCI), has successfully conducted the groundbreaking ceremony for a new production plant for TAFMER™ (Alpha-Olefin Copolymer), attended by Mr. Julian Ho, Executive Director for Energy, Chemicals and Engineering Services, Singapore Economic Development Board, and other dignitaries. The production plant for TAFMER™ will be constructed at Merbau, Jurong Island requiring a total investment of 19 bln Yen and have a production capacity of 100,000 tpa. The plant is scheduled for completion by December 2009 and the commercial production will start by March 2010. TAFMER™, a flexible and light resin modifier, dramatically improves impact resistance for molding materials such as automobile bumpers and sealability for packaging materials, when blended with thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene. TAFMER™ is expected to cover wide range of applications such as automotive, industrial and packaging materials, in which dramatic market growth is expected. Completing the new plant, the MCI Group will boast of its TAFMER™ production capacity at 250,000 tpa with the addition of the plants in Ichihara, Japan. MELS No.2 TAFMER™ plant is innovative since Mitsui Chemicals' state-of-art polymer design, catalyst and production process technology are incorporated. Therefore, global customers, specially in Asia, will be satisfied with the TAFMER™ supplied from this new plant. "This Mitsui elastomers project marks another milestone in the strong and comprehensive partnership between Mitsui Chemicals and Singapore", said Mr. Julian Ho, Executive Director." This project is very much in line with our aim to further grow and diversify Singapore's chemicals industry by focusing on the development of high-value advanced materials sector." MCI has formulated its new Mid-term Business Plan (the 08MTP), in which the company is aiming to complete the three dimensional strategy consisting of Economy, Environment and Society along with the concept of "The Challenge to Create Innovative Values" through creation of innovative new technologies. Fiscal 2008 is the first year of the 08MTP and MCI will commit itself to realizing the goal of this MTP for the next 4 years. Automotive and Industrial Materials business including TAFMER™ is one of the core businesses of the Performance Materials Business Sector which has the mission to establish high-profitability as a growth driver. MCI intends to bolster its position as a leading chemical manufacturer, satisfying customers' demand, which has been dramatically growing in Asian regions, capitalizing on expansion of the state-of-the-art and world-class production facility for TAFMER™. Company Press Release