Japanese chemical manufacturer Denka Co. has begun operations at an enhanced facility in Singapore where it produces high functional transparent resins, enabling the company to double output from the pre-refurbishment levels.

The new production lines at the Seraya plant on Jurong Island, restarted July 1 and are capable of making about 140,000 tons of methyl methacrylate-styrene copolymer annually after being redeveloped from a 70,000-ton polystyrene facility.

The plant is run by local subsidiary Denka Singapore Pte. Ltd. and is the Tokyo-based company's only methyl methacrylate-styrene copolymer production base.

Denka spent about 2.7 billion yen ($24.6 million) on the project to meet rising demand for the transparent resin used for optical applications such as light guide panels for back-lighting of televisions and computer displays, an official of the company said.

Demand for the thermoplastic resin is also robust from non-optical sectors, especially the fast-growing cosmetics industry in Asia, where the material is used to improve the quality of cosmetics containers, the official said. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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