Kumho Mitsui Chemicals puts new MDI production facility into operation

Mitsui Chemicals announced that its subsidiary Kumho Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., has started operating an additional diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) production facility in late September.

MDI is a key raw material for polyurethane, a signature material in a wide range of fields, including automotive parts, bedding and furniture, home and refrigerator insulation, elastic fibers, and various adhesives. Demand for MDI is expected to grow at an annual rate of 6% due to policy measures to improve home insulation performance to curb global warming around the world, as well as high demand from economic growth.

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals manufactures and sells high-performance monomeric MDI and modified MDI for the manufacture of automotive parts, elastic fibers, and synthetic leather, as well as commodity polymeric MDI for the manufacture of insulation materials. The newly implemented capacity increase is intended to meet the growth in demand for high-performance MDI - mainly for electric vehicles to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) - as well as the existing growth in demand for insulation materials.

In addition to expanding its production facilities, Kumho Mitsui Chemicals will also install recycling facilities to reuse by-products generated during the manufacturing process as raw materials. This will not only help to significantly reduce costs by increasing self-sufficiency in raw materials, but will also reduce wastewater discharge from plants and greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain.

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals aims to become a global leader in MDI. With the increased production capacity brought about by these advanced new facilities, Mitsui Chemicals will further expand its MDI business, which is expected to continue to grow in the future, and further improve the performance of its MDI products.