Nippon Zeon Co.

In anticipation of market growth, Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd., Louisville, KY, a developer and producer of polymers, is expanding operations. Zeon and Buna Sow Leuna Olefinverbund GmbH (BSL), an affiliate of Dow Deutchland, have signed a new license agreement. Additionally, Zeon is making some changes to its Tokuyama, Japan plant. Under the Zeon/BSL agreement, BSL will use Zeon technology to produce solution elastomers at its Schkopau, Germany plant. The projected plant capacity is 60,000 metric tons per year. Zeon and BSL hope to have commercial operation up and running by early 2000. Zeon and Dow have also structured a separate but related agreement. Dow has guaranteed to supply significant quantities of product, manufactured at the BSL site, through Zeon's sales channels to Dow customers around the world. In another venture, Zeon is expanding its solution elastomer capacity at its Tokuyama plant. By the middle of 1999, Zeon hopes to increase capacity from the current 30,000 mt per year to 55,000 mt.