Toyobo Co., Ltd. has recently completed the construction of new production facilities for films for multilayer ceramic capacitors. Specifically, the company’s new line is inside its Utsunomiya Plant in Utsunomiya City in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture.

Accordingly, the company aims to start commercial production around spring 2025. With the emergence of high-performance IT equipment such as AI servers and data centers, Toyobo said it will strengthen its own production system. Most importantly, this will meet the demand for ceramic capacitors, which will continue to expand on a global scale.

Sophisticated Facility

Ceramic capacitors are general-purpose electronic components that adjust electric current and temporarily store electricity. Moreover, their installation can suit in a variety of electronic circuits. Demand is expanding due to the spread of high-performance IT equipment such as servers and data centers.

Most importantly, they have been essentials for artificial intelligence (AI), the increasing sophistication of smartphones, and the development of the automotive industry. In fact, the market of electrification and autonomous driving will likely to continue growing at an annual rate of more than 7%. For that reason, to meet the increased demand for ceramic capacitors, Toyobo decided to install a new release film facility at its Utsunomiya Plant.

The new facility has recently been completed and has begun operation.

The new facility will manufacture release films, which are essential in the manufacturing process of ceramic capacitors. Both production methods are available. First is an offline coating, which achieves excellent smoothness by separately coating the original PET film after film formation. The second is inline coating, which increases production efficiency by forming a coating layer in the film formation process. Moreover, they are producing everything from the original film to the release film.

Realize Digital Society

As demand for ceramic capacitors will likely expand in the future, Toyobo aims to build a production system that can flexibly respond to a wide range of customer needs. Specifically, from mid-range to high-end products.
In addition, to reduce the environmental burden, the company will also work with customers to promote efforts to reuse used release films as recycled materials.
Prior to the start of production, Toyobo recently spearheaded an opening ceremony. Accordingly, about 50 people attended including guests from Tochigi Prefecture, Utsunomiya City, partner companies, and company representatives.
Ikuo Takeuchi, our company’s president and CEO, stated his determination to “maximize our strengths in being able to carry out all processes from the production of the base film to the coating of the release layer. Moreover, Takeuchi said, the company will aim to realize the growth of the industrial film business that supports the evolution of the digital society.

12 November 2024