Construction Starts on $600M Carbon Fiber Plant in U.S.Construction Starts on $600M Carbon Fiber Plant in U.S.

Japanese chemicals, pharmaceuticals, materials, and IT group Teijin kicked off construction of a $600 million carbon fiber manufacturing plant in Greenwood, SC at a ground breaking ceremony on June 1, a company press release announced Monday.

Operated by Teijin subsidiary Teijin Carbon Fibers Inc. (TCF), the Greenwood facility is expected to generate 220 new positions.

“We are strengthening its global upstream-to-downstream carbon fiber business. In particular, we have been leveraging research and development to expand carbon fiber business in the aircraft and automotive fields,” Yukito Miyajima, president of TCF, said in a statement. “Throughout this process, we looked at multiple locations, but ultimately, with the support of Greenwood local and state government officials, we chose Greenwood as the ideal location for our new U.S. carbon fiber facility.”

Teijin’s decision to open the new facility in South Carolina is linked to is recent capacity expansion for the specialized polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor for carbon fibers at a plant in Japan, Powder & Bulk Solids reported last December. Carbon fibers produced at the plant will primarily be used by the automotive and aerospace industries.

Operations at the Greenwood site are slated to commence by the end of FY2020. 

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