Daiwabo, Shinwa and Unitika are the latest major Japanese nonwovens companies involved in capacity expansions in Southeast Asia to meet the rapidly escalating demand for hygienic disposables and medical materials in the region.

Unitika is planning to open a second plant in Thailand in 2015 or early 2016 with an annual ouput of ten thousand tons of spunbond nonwovens. Thai Unitika Spunbond currently manufactures an annual 4,500 tons of polyester and PLA product at an existing plant in Bangkok.

Shinwa Corporation, headquartered in Ehime, expects its new company PT Shinwa Nonwovens Indonesia (SNI) in Paruan Industrial Park, Surabaya, Eastern Jawa to start operations in July this year. Tokyo Medical Japan has a 20% share in this operation which will start-up a 5,000 ton spunlace line for medical and food packaging nonwovens. Shinwa already has thermal bond, spunlace, chemical bond and spunbond facilities at plants in both Japan and China.

Osaka-headquartered Daiwabo Polytec has meanwhile just started up its new line in Suryacipta City of Industry, Karawang, in Indonesia, manufacturing air-through nonwoven fabrics with an annual capacity of 2,400 tons.

There are over twenty new diaper plants currently being built in Asia by the leaders in this field and as their key suppliers, many more nonwovens companies are also busy expanding there.