Asahi Kasei to build a second plant
for Ceolus™ microcrystalline cellulose
Düsseldorf, January 18, 2021 – Asahi Kasei will build a second plant for its microcrystalline cellulose excipient Ceolus™ at its Mizushima Works in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Groundbreaking will be in September 2021, and the facility is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2023. The total investment is 126 million USD.
Asahi Kasei currently manufactures Ceolus™, a microcrystalline cellulose in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. Microcrystalline cellulose is made from natural pulp, mainly used as an excipient for pharmaceuticals and foods. Ceolus™ is primarily used as a tablet binder – additives used for the purpose of providing the shape and increasing the volume of solid tablets – in pharmaceuticals.
Besides the standard-type product PH series, Ceolus™ has a lineup of KG series that greatly enhances the compactibility of tablets, and UF series that combines compactibility and flowability. These products provide solutions to a wide range of issues in the production of tablets for pharmaceuticals and supplements.
By using the KG series, tablets can be produced stably even when the amount of tablet binder that can be added is small, such as when tablets contain a large amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or when multiple APIs are formulated in a single tablet. The UF series realizes stable production of tablets as well as the uniformity of contained API in tablets, which depend on the excellent flowability of the product.
In recent years, demand for KG and UF series products has increased, and further growth in demand is expected in the future. To meet such growing demand, Asahi Kasei has decided to make a capital expenditure to double the production capacity and achieve a stable supply through multiple production sites. This expansion will enable Asahi Kasei to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical and supplement industries.
About the Asahi Kasei Corporation
Asahi Kasei Corporation is a globally active diversified technology company with operations in the Material, Homes, and Health Care business. The Material division encompasses fibers & textiles, petrochemicals, performance polymers, performance materials, consumables, battery separators, and electronic devices. The Homes division provides housing and construction materials to the Japanese market. The Health Care division includes pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and acute critical care devices and systems. With more than 40,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries and achieved sales of 17.6 billion euros (2,151.6 billion yen) in the fiscal year 2019 (April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020). Asahi Kasei is Japan’s largest polyamide supplier and is one of only four fully integrated polyamide manufacturers worldwide – able to produce PA 6.6 completely from monomer to compound.
Asahi Kasei is “Creating for Tomorrow” with all operations sharing a common mission of contributing to life and living for people around the world.
For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.com and www.asahi-kasei.eu.