Soalon, Corporation. a subsidiary of GSI Creos that manufactures triacetate fiber, has begun a collaboration with Toray Industries Inc. The partnership involves developing fabrics using Toray’s specialty fibers—mainly polyester—while Toray will also work on fabric development using Soalon’s triacetate yarn. The two companies have already started fabric development and aim to begin sales as early as 2026.
Soalon is collaborating with various departments within Toray. The initiative begins with mutual understanding of each other’s material characteristics, including explanations from Toray about its yarns and introductions of triacetate fiber to Toray’s sports and industrial materials divisions. By the end of the year, both companies plan to visit each other’s facilities—Toray’s Ishikawa Plant (Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture) and Soalon’s Toyama Plant (Toyama City)—to exchange ideas and advance the initiative.
Soalon President Yoshihito Sakamoto commented, “Toray is the number one synthetic fiber company in Japan. Soalon is one of a kind. Together, we’ll develop with the power of number one and only one.” Although triacetate fiber sales are currently struggling, demand is increasing for new applications such as satin and flat knitting. Soalon is reinforcing its development strategy by creating distinctive fabrics using Toray’s specialty yarns. Due to the difficulty of fabric production with triacetate, pure triacetate fabrics are rare, with 70–80% of products being blends with synthetic fibers.
In addition to the Toray partnership, GSI Creos is also strengthening development using nylon. Triacetate fiber is primarily used in women’s fashion. Despite its 58-year history, there are still untapped markets, including sportswear, industrial materials, and menswear, which are now positioned as key development categories.Toray’s involvement in fabric development using triacetate fiber is expected to help expand into these new areas.
The collaboration with Soalon was sparked by the strong existing relationship between Toray and GSI Creos, and also reflects structural reforms in Japan’s polyester fiber industry.
After Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. （now Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. ） withdrew from polyester filament production at its Toyohashi Plant (Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture), production of polyester filament blended with triacetate fiber had been outsourced to the Unitika Group since 2009. However, with Unitika’s withdrawal from the textile business and the unclear supply structure following the acquisition by Seiren, the partnership with Toray appears to be a strategic response to these changes.