© SEKISUI S Lec
Business |
SEKISUI S-Lec BV looking to expand production capacity
Japanese, SEKISUI Chemical, has decided to expand its European film production with a new film line at its plant in Roermond, and a new resin line at its plant in Geleen.
Both plants are located in the Netherlands. With the new film production line, the company mainly plans to produce wedge-shaped interlayer film for head-up displays (HUD), looking to make strides in the automotive market.
The European subsidiary, SEKISUI S-Lec BV, develops and sells film for laminated glass used in cars and buildings. In the next few years, global car production is expected to increase by around 2% per year to 105 million by 2021 (compared with 94 million in 2016). Furthermore, the demand for laminated-glass film is expected to grow even faster than the increase in the number of cars manufactured, as the application of the film will be extended to include side windows and sunroofs, the company states in a press release.
With this investment the company is gearing up to manufacture film for another market; windscreens suitable for head-up displays (HUDs). These displays incorporate technology that projects information, such as car speed, onto a transparent surface, such as a windscreen.
The total cost of this capacity expansion will be around EUR 155 million. Expansion work in Roermond and Geleen is planned to start in the second half of the 2019 financial year and the first half of the 2020 financial year respectively. The expansion is also expected to create dozens of jobs.
