Toho Tenax Europe GmbH — Germany-based subsidiary of Japan-based carbon fiber manufacturer Toho
Tenax Co. Ltd., part of the Teijin Group — has begun full operation of its fourth carbon fiber
production line at its plant in Oberbruch, Germany. Toho Tenax completed the 1,700-ton-capacity
Line 4 in August 2009, but postponed its startup because of declining demand for carbon fiber
resulting from the global economic downturn and also because of consequent adjustments to the Toho
Tenax group’s global production.
After seeing rising carbon fiber demand this year — especially for aircraft, sports, leisure
and industrial applications such as wind power generation — Toho Tenax started up Line 4 in
September. Carbon fiber global sales had decreased to about 23,000 tons in 2009, but the company
anticipates sales will grow by 15 percent annually beginning this year. Toho Tenax also reports it
will further meet rising demand by optimizing production in Japan, Germany and the United States.
October 26, 2010
