Teijin Limited announced today that a new, additional production line for its polycarbonate resin Panlite® sheet and film, located at its Matsuyama plant in Ehime Prefecture, will begin operation on June 17. The company invested in this new line to meet growing demand for high-quality automotive interior parts and in-vehicle electronic components, such as displays and touch screens.
Panlite® sheet and film. Image Credit: Teijin
The shift to vehicle electrification and autonomous driving is leading to improvements in interior design and infotainment that can transform vehicle cabins into comfortable, relaxing and engaging spaces. Applications such as touch screens and heads-up displays require optical sheet and film with excellent transparency and impact resistance, and polycarbonate resin sheets and films are often used for these applications.
In addition to automotive applications, Teijin plans to market Panlite® sheet and film products, which deliver higher quality than conventional in-house products, to the electrical and electronics (E/E) industry for devices such as virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR). The markets in these industries have expanded rapidly in recent years.
The new production line will allow Teijin to manufacture Panlite® sheet and film, and multi-layer sheet and film of Panlite® and acrylic resins, in thicknesses of 100 to 500 microns. The new production line will have a capacity of 1,350 tons of these sheets and films per year.
The Panlite® sheet and film products manufactured on the new line will provide superior smoothness and surface hardness compared to conventional in-house products. By suppressing minute distortions that can occur during manufacturing, Teijin is able to achieve surface smoothness that is the highest standard in the industry, according to internal research. Higher surface quality can enhance the resolution of projected images.
Teijin has an integrated production system that covers everything from polycarbonate resin to sheets and films, enabling the company to manufacture high-quality products that are less susceptible to thermal degradation. Because there is little thermal degradation of the products during the production process, Teijin can manufacture film and sheet products that are easy to process and can be made into complex shapes. Teijin has previously produced Panlite® sheets and films, and multi-layer sheets and films made from Panlite® and acrylic resin, for use in optical equipment. The new production line was added to produce even higher-quality products.
Teijin aims to achieve annual sales of 2.5 billion yen in fiscal 2027 from products manufactured on the new production line.