Mitsubishi Plastics and Mitsubishi Rayon to merge carbon fibre businesses

Mitsubishi Plastics Inc and Mitsubishi Rayon Co Ltd, subsidiaries of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, have agreed to integrate the Pitch-based carbon fibre business of Mitsubishi Plastics and the PAN-based carbon fibre business of Mitsubishi Rayon with the purpose of enhancing the carbon fibre and composite materials business. Mitsubishi Rayon will succeed Mitsubishi Plastics’ Pitch-based carbon fibre business through a company split and launch new organisation, in which the Pitch-based carbon fibre business and PAN-based carbon fibre business are integrated, as of April 1, 2015.
 
As a single group, Mitsubishi Plastics and Mitsubishi Rayon constitute the world’s only manufacturer with both the coal pitch-based carbon fibre and PAN-based carbon fibre technologies. Tangible results have been achieved so far, which include a series of newly designed golf shafts Diamana B, W and R developed by Mitsubishi Rayon through the appropriate use of both PAN-based and Pitch-based carbon fibres by pursuing the group synergy through co-marketing and technology exchanges.
 
“As the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group, we will apply knowledge gained through the world leading Pitch-based carbon fibre business to the area of the PAN-based carbon business to enhance the strengths of providing customers with solutions for industrial application such as automobile, pressure vessel and wind turbines whip, which are our strategic focus areas. Moreover, we will maximise the value of Pitch-based carbon fibre business by utilising the business infrastructure regarding the production, sales and development of PAN-related carbon fibre and composite materials business that has already been operated globally,” said Mitsubishi Chemical in a press release.