Daicel Group Integrates Polyplastics to Strengthen Global Layout for High-Performance Engineering Plastics

Japan's leading chemical company, Daicel Corporation, recently announced a major business restructuring plan: effective April 1, 2026, it will fully integrate the engineering plastics business of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Polyplastics Co., Ltd., via an absorption-type merger. This move aims to create a more competitive and innovative high-performance materials platform to meet growing global market demand.

1、Company Background: A Century-Old Chemical Giant and an Engineering Plastics Pioneer

Daicel: Daicel is a comprehensive Japanese chemical enterprise with a century of history, founded in 1919. Starting with celluloid, the company has evolved into a multinational group mastering core technologies in cellulose chemistry, organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and explosives engineering. Its business scope is extensive, with core segments including: Safety Systems (e.g., automotive airbag inflators), Environmental Engineering, Materials (e.g., cellulose acetate, engineering plastics), and Optical Materials. Daicel (China) Investment Co., Ltd., its regional headquarters in China, was established in 2004, has invested in 8 companies in China, and set up a new technology and industrialization research institute in Shanghai in 2013.

Polyplastics: Polyplastics is a globally leading supplier of engineering plastics, jointly established in 1964 as a venture between Germany's Celanese Group and Japan's Daicel. Since its inception, the company has been dedicated to the scientific research of engineering plastics and the commercialization and industrialization of its products. In 2020, Daicel acquired Celanese's entire 45% stake, making Polyplastics its wholly-owned subsidiary. Polyplastics is renowned worldwide for its excellent polyoxymethylene (POM) product Duracon®, and is also at the forefront of the industry in the R&D and commercialization of other high-performance resins such as PBT, PPS, and LCP.

2、Restructuring Background and Preliminary Synergy Achievements

This restructuring is based on Daicel's strategic plan "Building a New Daicel" and builds upon the foundation of synergy development between the two companies since 2020. Key achievements from 2020 until the announcement of the restructuring plan include:

①November 2024: Commencement of commercial POM production at DP Engineering Plastics (Nantong) Co., Ltd. in Jiangsu, China.

②February 2025: Startup of the LCP polymer plant at Polyplastics Taiwan Co., Ltd. in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China.

③Planned for April 2026: Startup of the second COC plant at TOPAS Advanced Polymers GmbH in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

3、Restructuring Core: Business Integration and Focus on Strengths

This restructuring adopts an "absorption-type merger" model, with the core arrangements as follows:

Business Integration: Daicel will fully take over Polyplastics' core engineering plastics business, including all its technology patents, global production bases, and sales networks.

Strategic Synergy: Post-integration, Daicel aims to maximize synergy effects in the synthetic resin field through unified management.

4、Key Products: Full Range of High-Performance Materials Brought Under One Roof

Through this integration, Daicel will acquire Polyplastics' comprehensive and high-value engineering plastics portfolio, significantly enhancing its technical strength and market supply capacity. The core brands and key types involved include:

Polyoxymethylene (POM): The Duracon® series (e.g., standard grades like M90-44, M25-44, and high-flow grades like H140-54C), widely used in automotive fuel system components.

Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP): The Laperos® series, featuring excellent low dielectric loss properties, suitable for 5G communication and miniaturized electronic components.

Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC): The TOPAS® series, characterized by high transparency, excellent moisture barrier properties, and biosafety, primarily used in high-end pharmaceutical packaging and optical devices.

Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT): The Duranex® series (e.g., hydrolysis-resistant/ flame-retardant grades like 330HR, 531HS), offering good heat resistance and electrical properties.

Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS): The Durafide® series, providing excellent high-temperature resistance and chemical corrosion resistance.

Other Specialty Materials: Including long-fiber reinforced thermoplastics Plastron®, high-performance resin powder Durast® Powder, and polyether ketone Sarpek® PEK.

5、Strategic Outlook: Collaborative Innovation and Future Layout

This integration is a key deployment within Daicel Group's medium-term strategy "Accelerate 2025". Post-integration, Daicel aims to achieve the following goals through technology sharing, business synergy, and unified management:

Strengthen Innovation: Merge the R&D capabilities of both entities to accelerate the development of new material solutions.

Optimize Operations: Unify supply chains and global production bases (covering locations such as Nantong, China; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Germany) to enhance operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Enhance Service: Provide more complete and efficient products and technical support to customers in high-growth industries such as automotive, electronics, and healthcare.

This business integration is expected to have a profound impact on the global engineering plastics industry chain landscape, marking a solid step forward for the Daicel Group in strengthening its position as a global leader in high-performance materials.