Toray Industries, Inc. announced that Toray Advanced Textile Mexico, S.A.de C.V., its automobile airbag nylon fiber and fabric manufacturing and distribution subsidiary in Mexico, held an opening ceremony for its new plant on January 23rd.
The ceremony was attended by about 100 guests led by Juan Diaz Mazadiego., General Director of foreign trade of the Ministry of Economy, on behalf of Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, Aristóteles Sandoval, Governor of the State of Jalisco, Ambassador Yasushi Takase from the Embassy of Japan in Mexico and Consul General Osamu Hokida.
The new plant is Toray Group’s first integrated production facility spanning from automobile airbag yarn to fabrics, and is the production base primarily for Americas. It completes the group’s global integrated production system from yarn to fabrics covering all regions of the world including Asia, Europe and Americas, giving the group three airbag fiber manufacturing bases and six airbag fabric manufacturing bases.
Mexico has been rapidly growing as an automobile production base by leveraging the wide-ranging free trade network and geographical proximity to the U.S. The Toray Group made full-scale entry into Mexico with its purchase of Zoltek in 2014, and has been actively developing its carbon fiber and resin businesses as the base primarily for Americas.
Toray established the TAMX plant to respond to demand expansion in Americas, which is one of the world’s major airbag markets. TAMX further strengthens Toray’s global production system that supplies airbag fabrics of the same quality from all bases in a timely manner. It will also accelerate Toray’s business expansion leveraging its development capability nurtured by engaging in the entire process from yarn to fabrics, and the group aims to acquire the largest share in the global airbag fabric market in 2020.