Asahi Kasei Advance Corp has established Asahi Kasei Advance Vietnam Corp in Hung Yen province near Hanoi, Vietnam. The new facility is expected to start in March 2020 and will manufacture sewing fabric for airbags. Entry into the airbag fabric sewing business marks an expansion of Asahi Kasei’s airbag-related business for greater earnings.

 

Vehicle airbags are a major application of Leona nylon 66 filament, and continuing growth is forecasted as vehicle production rises in Asia, the number of airbags per vehicle increases, and safety requirements become higher in various countries. Furthermore, airbag design and development are expected to diversify as trends for CASE (connected, autonomous, shared/service, electric) result in a greater variety of vehicle interior spaces, the Japan-based company said on its website.

 

Asahi Kasei Advance Vietnam will enable the Asahi Kasei Group to expand its airbag-related business in line with changing needs in the airbag market while reinforcing connections with module manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers.

 

The Vietnam unit will have a total capacity of 5 million pieces per year. In phase 1, capacity will be incrementally raised to 2.5 million pieces per year from 2019 to 2022. Within a few years subsequently, capacity will be raised to 5 million pieces per year as phase 2.

 

Asahi Kasei manufactures yarn in Nobeoka, Japan. Subsequently, fabric is manufactured in Nagasaki, Japan, and Nantong, China, by a partner in joint venture of which Asahi Kasei Corp has an investment. Asahi Kasei Advance Vietnam will perform sewing and then supply to airbag manufacturers.