Mitsui Chemicals Asahi Life To Close Japanese Lines

Mitsui Chemicals Asahi Life Materials is reportedly restructuring its nonwovens business in response to shrinking demand for diapers in Japan. The company, which was formed in 2023 through a combination of Mitsui Chemicals and Asahi Kasei, is one of Japan’s largest nonwovens producers.

The restructuring effort includes the closure of two production lines in Japan. Following these closures, the company will import materials for the domestic market from its two subsidiaries in Thailand, where it makes a reported 77,000 tons of polypropylene spunbond nonwovens per year. Of this, 47,000 tons are made at AKST, which was established by Asahi Kasei before the merger, and the remaining 30,000 are made at MHM, Mitsui’s Thai subsidiary. The company’s Japanese operations made 55,000 tons of polypropylene spunbond nonwovens per year as well as PET and nylon spunbond nonwovens; it is unclear how much of this capacity will be impacted by the line closures.

Mitsui’s Thailand facility makes high strength, hollow fiber spunbond nonwovens under the brand name Airyfa which is primarily used in diapers as top sheet and side panel materials. The AKST lines will be converted to enable Airyfa manufacturing.