Teijin Fibers Limited announced today that it will start supplying chemically recycled Ecopet Plus polyester fibres for the cords of Toyo Tire & Rubber's Proxes Ne tyres, which are special tyres designed for environmentally oriented passenger cars.

Ecopet Plus is created through a closed-loop recycling system called Eco Circle, which was developed by Teijin and will be used for the carcass, which functions like the framework of a tyre. According to Teijin Fibers, until now, recycled materials were unable to meet the strict requirements of tyre carcass fabric. However, Teijin Fibers says that thanks to its high quality, its eco-friendly Ecopet Plus has been adopted by Toyo Tire & Rubber.

Union Tire Cord, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teijin Fibers, will process raw Ecopet Plus, preparing it for production into tyre cord and Toyo Tire & Rubber will put its Proxes Ne tyre on the market beginning today.

Background

The rising interest in development of ecological products, recycling and carbon dioxide reduction has contributed to an increasing demand for environmentally friendly automobiles. In the case of eco-friendly automotive parts, including tyres, an especially key component of automobiles, the focus is on developing products that help to prevent global warming, save resources, enable recycling and lower noise pollution.

Tire cords require strength, elasticity, adhesion to rubber, fatigue resistance, dimensional stability and heat resistance. In view of such demanding requirements, Teijin Fibers says that conventional recycling systems have been unable to produce suitable polyester fibres.

Teijin Fibers is a long established manufacturer and retailer of polyester fibres for tyres, as well as a company with considerable expertise in developing products made with recycled polyester. The company developed Ecopet Plus polyester fibre using advanced recycling technologies that chemically decompose polyester for conversion into raw polyester. The recycled material offers the purity of products derived from petroleum and therefore achieves the demanding performance levels required for tyre cords.

In addition, Teijin Fibers' repeatable recycling system reduces energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 80% each when compared to systems that produce polyester material from petroleum.

Details of Ecopet Plus for tyre cords

• Fineness: 1,670 decitex (384 filaments)
• Production: Polyester raw material is produced with a chemical recycling process and then turned into polyester polymer at Matsuyama Facility. Production for tyre cords will be carried out at the Iwakuni Production Facility.
• Sales Target: 10 tons/month (approximately 50,000 tyres) in 2009, rising to 30 tons/month (approximately 150,000 tyres) in 2011.

About Teijin Limited

Teijin is a global technology-driven group operating in five main fields: synthetic fibers; films and plastics; pharmaceuticals and home health care; trading and retail; and IT and new products. Teijin Limited is listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges and has a market capitalization of USD 4.1 billion. The company had consolidated sales of USD 10.3 billion in fiscal 2007, and employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide.

About Teijin Fibers Limited

The Teijin Group's polyester fibre operation, spearheaded by Teijin Fibers Limited, conducts R&D, manufacturing and marketing of materials and textiles made from polymer and polyester fibres. Sales: 140.4 billion yen (FY2007)