In June, 2008, Toyobo and DSM Dyneema made the decision to expand production capacity for Dyneema ultra high strength polyethylene fibre. Nippon Dyneema Co., Ltd, headquartered in Osaka, Japan, is a joint venture of Toyobo and DSM Dyneema.

The main applications for Dyneema in Japan are ropes, fishing lines, gloves (including knitted) and helmets and owing to steady domestic demand, Toyobo has increased its sales volume for the past few years. On the other hand, the yarn production capacity has reached 1,600 metric tonnes per year at January  2008, after one new line had been added to the existing ones. However, this will not be nearly enough to meet demand, based on the company’s forecasts.

In order to respond to this strong demand, Nippon Dyneema will expand its yarn production capacity by 1,600 metric ton/year. Production will take place at Toyobo Tsuruga Plant in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture. This will consist of two lines each capable of making 1600 metric tonnes per year or 3200 metric tonnes per year at full production. Production is expected to start February 2010 and an investment of approximately 5 billion Japanese yen will be made.