Japan's Riken Technos Corp. will expand its polyvinyl chloride compound plant in Thailand to meet brisk demand in the local market.

The Tokyo-based company said it will invest about 1.5 billion yen ($13.7 million) to enhance the manufacturing capacity of the plant in Pathumthani Province, near Bangkok, which is run by local unit Riken (Thailand) Co.

A building and a warehouse will be constructed at the plant's premises in the Bangkadi Industrial Park and the new facilities will become fully operational in the summer of 2023, Riken Technos said.

The company expects its PVC compound sales in Thailand to grow 3 percent or more this year and in following years as demand, especially for its mainstay products for wire harnesses, has been strong after recovering from a pandemic-induced hit last year.

Riken (Thailand) was founded in 1989 and is owned 40 percent by Riken Technos and 35 percent by Thai Plastic and Chemicals Public Co., a subsidiary of the Siam Cement Group's SCG Chemicals Co.

Under agreements signed last year, Riken Technos took over the production of lead-free PVC compounds from Thai Plastic as well as the right to sell in Thailand products manufactured by the Thai firm's overseas subsidiaries.

Riken Technos hopes these arrangements will help it expand sales further to locally based clients in addition to Japanese companies operating in Thailand, which have long been at the center of its customer base. (NNA/ Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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