Teijin Ltd., a supplier of carbon fiber used in the Airbus SAS superjumbo jet, is considering plans to expand output in the United States to meet demand for the lightweight material in cars and storage tanks for natural gas.
Teijin plans to increase its global output by about 36 percent to 18,900 metric tons a year by 2016, Executive Vice President Norio Kamei said in an interview in Tokyo. It may expand its Tennessee factory or build a plant with a 5,000-ton production capacity, he said, declining to give a cost.
Teijin and its larger domestic rival, Toray Industries Inc., are pushing sales in North America, where the boom in extracting natural gas from shale rock is jacking up demand for fiber used to wrap storage tanks to increase strength. It's also used in Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus LFA sports car, and Teijin is working with General Motors Co. on technology that reduces carbon fiber costs and molding time to enable mass production, Kamei said.