Asahi Kasei to Exit MMA and PMMA Business

Asahi Kasei announced on May 27 that it will exit methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer, cyclohexyl methacrylate (CHMA), PMMA acrylic resin and SB latex businesses. The plant in Kawasaki City plans to stop producing these chemicals between March 2026 and September 2027. Acetonitrile production at the plant will also be stopped and all facilities will be reorganized. Asahi Kasei expects a non-recurring loss of approximately 150 million euros from the restructuring this fiscal year.

The Japanese chemical group said the reason for the suspension was insufficient demand, so the production of products in Kawasaki City became unprofitable and had to be scaled down.

The annual production capacity of the affected products at the Asahi Kasei plant is approximately: MMA monomer annual production of approximately 100,000 tons (planned suspension time: September 2026); PMMA resin annual production of approximately 40,000 tons (planned suspension time: September 2026); SB latex annual production of approximately 36,000 tons (planned suspension time: September 2027); acetonitrile production is estimated at 14,000 tons (discontinuation date to be determined in consultation with customers); CHMA production has not yet been announced (planned suspension in March 2026). Asahi Kasei will continue to produce acetonitrile through its Korean subsidiary, which also supplies Japanese customers.

The 190 employees of the affected companies will look for other jobs internally.

After the reorganization, the Kawasaki plant will focus on the production of synthetic rubbers such as solution polymerized styrene butadiene rubber (S-SBR) and ion exchange membranes, which are seen as the basis for strategic growth areas such as PEM electrolysis and hydrogen production.