Invested in Fuji Design Co., Ltd.

Aiming for full-scale participation in the CFRP recycling business through joint investment with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.

January 18, 2023

ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd. (Head Office: Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, President Isogawa Tatsuyuki, hereinafter referred to as "our Company"), together with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President Masashi Fujii, hereinafter referred to as "Mitsubishi Gas Chemical"), have invested in Fuji Design Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Ono-shi, Hyogo Prefecture, Representative Director Morihiko Sugino, hereinafter referred to as "Fuji Design").

Since 2020, our company has been collaborating with Fuji Kashoku Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Ono City, Hyogo Prefecture, Representative Director Morihiko Sugino, hereinafter referred to as "Fuji Kashoku") to develop CFRP carbon fiber reinforced plastic (hereinafter referred to as "CFRP"). We are conducting research on recycling (denoted as ). Fuji Design, in which we have recently invested, is a corporation established by Fuji Kashoku in August 2022 after separating its business to expand the production of recycled carbon fiber, which it has already commercialized.

1. Intent of investment

CFRP is widely used as a material for aircraft parts and sporting goods due to its lightweight and high strength properties. On the other hand, they pose envrionmental issues as they are difficult to recycle and emit large amounts of carbon dioxide during manufacturing.
In the future, the applications and usage of CFRP are expected to expand significantly, such as in wind power plant turbine blades and automobile parts, and demand for recycling is expected to increase rapidly.
Based on our long track record of using CFRP in aircraft parts, in order to fulfill our social responsibility as a manufacturer, our company has been working on research and development on CFRP recycling in collaboration with Fuji Kashoku, and have achieved certain results. In addition, in order to meet the demand for recycling that is expected to increase in the future, Fuji Kashoku has decided to establish a new corporation that will separate the recycling business from its own company, and to make a capital investment in the company. In response, our company has decided to make an investment in Fuji Design in order to fully participate in the CFRP recycling business and strengthen our relationship with Fuji Kashoku.

2. Main initiatives planned for the future

As our company works with Fuji Design to advance research into CFRP recycling, we will provide a stable supply of CFRP waste materials to Fuji Design, and we will also independently develop products using recycled CFRP.
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, along with its group companies, will provide resins and composite materials related to recycled carbon fiber.

Our company aims to manufacture and sell environmental friendly products using recycled materials and contribute to society through our business activities.

The outline of the investee corporation is as follows.

Name of invested corporation Fuji Design Co., Ltd.
President Representative Director Morihiko Sugino
Establishment August 2022
Capital 30 million yen
Address 804-16 Manshoji-cho, Ono City, Hyogo Prefecture
Main business
  • Research and development on CFRP recycling
  • CFRP recycling contract
  • Development, manufacturing and sales of carbon fiber recycled from CFRP and related products

Contact Information Regarding this Matter

For news organizations

Public Relations Department, Corporate Planning Division ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd.


1-1 Shinmeiwa-cho, Takarazuka, Hyogo, 665-8550, Japan

About the business

ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd. Strategic Planning Department Aircraft Division


1-1-1 Ogi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 658-0027, Japan

Attention

The information published in this content is current as of the date of publication.
Please note that this information may differ from the latest information due to changes in our group's business strategies and organization.