Another Giant Announced Its Withdrawal from Nylon-Related Production Business!

On December 4, Sumitomo Chemical announced that the company decided to close the cyclohexanone production unit at its Ehime plant in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, and withdraw from the business.

It is understood that the device began operation in 1973 and has a production capacity of 100,000 tons/year. The shutdown of the unit is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2024.

Cyclohexanone is the main intermediate in the manufacture of nylon, caprolactam and adipic acid, and is also an important industrial solvent.

Sumitomo Chemical expects that demand for cyclohexanone in Japan and overseas will remain stable, but due to recent major changes in the business environment, such as soaring raw material prices and a sluggish market due to the slow recovery of the global economy, Sumitomo Chemical believes that it will be difficult to achieve stable sales volumes or profit margins for cyclohexanone in the medium to long term.

Currently, Sumitomo Chemical is implementing short-term focused performance improvement measures, and as part of these efforts, the company is accelerating business restructuring from the perspective of profitability and best owner principles. The company will steadily advance these measures to ensure a V-shaped recovery in fiscal 2024, while strengthening its financial position for future fundamental structural reforms.