 "Boeing's 777X aircraft")
Japan’s Toray Industries will invest Yen 50 billion yen (approximately $ 406 million) for the construction of an integrated manufacturing line to produce yarn (precursor), high-performance carbon fibre Torayca with an annual production capacity of 2,000 tonnes, and Torayca prepreg in the new commercial premises it acquired in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The decision to invest in new facility follows an agreement with Boeing to supply Toray’s carbon fibre Torayca prepreg.
Toray Industries has signed a comprehensive long-term agreement with the Boeing Company to supply carbon fibre Torayca prepreg for the production of the new Boeing 777X aircraft, extending the existing supply agreement for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The new agreement extends the comprehensive agreement that was signed in November 2005 by more than 10 years from this year. The total value of prepreg Toray Group will supply for both 787 and 777X programs for the contract period is expected to exceed Yen 1.3 trillion ($ 11 billion).
The expansion represents the first phase of Totay’s planned Yen 100 billion investment, as the company seeks to expand its composite materials business in the US. The new facility will also be Toray’s first integrated production line for yarn (precursor), carbon fibre Torayca and Torayca prepreg in the US.
Toray will commence production of yarn (precursor) in phases starting in May 2017, and plans to begin supplying Torayca prepreg to Boeing in 2019, following certification.
As for the 787, Torayca prepreg has been used since the beginning for some of the primary structural materials, including the main wings and body. With Boeing planning to raise the number of 787 aircraft being produced every month from the current 10 planes to 12 per month in 2016 and 14 per month by the end of the decade, and the ratio of larger models also expected to increase, the demand for carbon fibre composite materials also is expected to increase significantly.
The 777X aircraft is a large-sized, twin-engine passenger aircraft currently being developed by Boeing as a successor to the existing 777, with a plan to deliver the first plane in 2020. With the conclusion of the agreement with Boeing, Toray’s Torayca prepreg has been officially selected for these main wings.
Preparing for the planned 787 production increase to 12 planes a month, Toray has already been working to expand Torayca prepreg production facilities at its US subsidiary, Toray Composites (America) Inc in Tacoma (Washington), and the new facilities there are expected to start operation in January 2016. The integrated production line to be constructed in Spartanburg County, South Carolina is intended to meet growing demand generated by Boeing’s plan to increase production of 787 aircraft to 14 per month as well as the 777X program. The new facility will confidently position Toray to provide Boeing with a stable supply of products.
