Toho Tenax Co. Ltd., the core company of Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business, has announced that it will develop and market carbon fiber fabrics for India’s composite industry in collaboration with Hindoostan Technical Fabrics Ltd., a carbon and aramid textile manufacturer wholly owned by Hindoostan Mills Ltd. of the Thackersey Group. This will be the first time Toho Tenax is partnering with a textile manufacturer in India’s carbon fiber sector.
Under the partnership, Toho Tenax will supply its proprietary Tenax carbon fiber to Hindoostan Technical Fabrics for weaving and processing into quality textiles. The two companies will jointly market products to manufacturers of composite materials and reinforced sheets.
The focus of the collaboration will be on the Indian composite industry serving various industrial domains, including transportation, such as automotive, aerospace and railway; wind power; sports and leisure; medical equipment; construction reinforcement and retrofitting; electronics such as computer and mobile phone housings, as well as a host of other industrial applications requiring advanced carbon fiber-based solutions.
Toho Tenax, which already supplies chopped carbon fiber in India, sees significant potential in the nation’s carbon fiber market, and is preparing to meet surging demand from various customers for highly valued intermediate material, including prepregs.
“The collaboration between Hindoostan Technical Fabrics, with its advanced textile technology and strong presence in the Indian market, and Toho Tenax, the world’s second largest carbon fiber maker with a proven track record in the global carbon fiber composite market, will enable us to quickly secure a stronger market position in India,” said Norio Kamei, President of Toho Tenax and head of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business. “We aim to establish Tenax textile as a mainstream product in the fast-growing Indian composite market.”
“We believe that India’s carbon fiber composite industry is in its infancy and has substantial growth potential. Our collaboration with Toho Tenax, an industry leader in carbon fiber technology, will play a pivotal role in providing users with high quality, customized and competitive carbon fiber fabrics with reliable supply and strong application support,” said Sudhir Thackersey, Chairman of Hindoostan Technical Fabrics Ltd. “Our goal is to use our expertise and experience to continuously develop innovative textile solutions in the field of high performance composites.”
India’s composite industry has recorded robust growth of about 20 per cent per annum over the last five years. Tenax carbon fiber textile is already used globally in a wide range of composite products, such as automotive parts, wind-turbine generator blades, medical machinery and machine tools.
India is one of the most strategic markets in Teijin Group’s medium- to long-term growth plan. Since setting up a company in New Delhi in 2007, Teijin has been developing markets in sectors like automobiles and railcars, electronics, infrastructure, new energy and healthcare. The group currently focuses on vertically integrating its midstream and downstream businesses through strategic alliances for further growth in India.
Hindoostan Mills Ltd., founded in 1873, has vast experience in various textile manufacturing processes and has current sales of Rs. 100 crores. The Thackersey Group has also diversified into various other businesses over the last 10 years.
Teijin is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT.
The group has some 150 companies and around 17,000 employees spread out over 20 countries.