Kuraray to Cease Drylaid Nonwovens Production

2024-12-07 22:00

Kuraray Co., Ltd., a Japanese nonwovens producer, has announced it will cease production of drylaid nonwovens and reduce production capacity of meltblown nonwovens as part of a restructuring program. The company has been involved in the drylaid nonwovens business since 1972 and began producing meltblown in 1989. In recent years, the business environment has become increasingly severe due to oversupply caused by investments throughout Asia and declining domestic demand, the company reports.

"Having examined our future business policy, we have determined that restructuring through a reduction in production capacity is imperative," the company announced. "We will restructure our nonwoven fabric business by focusing our management resources on the meltblown nonwoven fabric business."

Kuraray will cease production of drylaid nonwovens at its Kuraray Kuraflex drylaid plant in Okayama in December 2024 and stop sales in March 2025. Meanwhile, the company's meltblown production in Okayama was shut down in June 2024 and consolidated at Kuraray's Saijo plant.

The Kuraray Group has positioned the upgrading of its business portfolio as a key measure in its medium-term management plan, PASSION 2026, and is proceeding with the focused allocation of resources to core businesses and identification of businesses to be downsized or divested. It will continue to reconfigure our business and product mix while giving due consideration to social and environmental value and economic value, thereby building a more sophisticated portfolio.