Strategic acquisitions, composites portfolio expansion transform Teijin

On Sept. 8, Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) reported on its recent turning points that have improved its global position and further transformed the company.

Beginning as a commercial rayon fiber manufacturer in 1918, the company points to continuous adaptation as one key to its transformation. "Looking back at our history, we have had three major turning points," says Jun Suzuki, President and CEO. “We are still in the middle of the third turning point, which began around 2010 when we began transforming our business portfolio to maximize opportunities by strategically reallocating our corporate resources, including through restructuring."

A key part of this transformation, says Teijin, has been to turn the company into a world-leading Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry (read “Teijin to establish Teijin Automotive Center Europe GmbH”). As a result, Teijin has reportedly strengthened its international market position and built a solid foundation for providing 21^st century automotive solutions. For example, says the company, in response to the Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric (CASE) movement within the industry, it has been helping to develop increasingly fuel-efficient, lightweight, sustainable and environmentally friendly vehicles that move people and goods safely, comfortably and efficiently.

According to Teijin, it has also been supplying high-performance materials, such as carbon fibers, aramids and resins, for advanced applications in the aerospace, industrial and automotive sectors for decades. By expanding its presence in these fields, especially through composite materials, the company says it has opened up new markets and sales channels with a highly diversified product portfolio. 

The company’s strategic acquisitions are said to have enabled Teijin to better serve automotive customers in North America, Europe and China as well as to deepen relationships with major automobile manufacturers worldwide.

For example, CSP Victall (Tangshan, China), a joint venture between CSP and Qingdao Victall Railway, recently announced the construction of an SMC component manufacturing facility in the Wujin National Hi-Tech Industrial Zone in Jiangsu. This will be CSP Victall's second manufacturing facility in China.

In Germany, Teijin’s fiber and products converting company Teijin Frontier has acquired J.H. Ziegler GmbH (Achern, Germany), a global supplier of nonwoven-materials for automotive interior and exterior applications.

Additionally, Teijin Automotive Center Europe in Wuppertal was founded in February 2020 to provide Teijin subsidiaries in Europe with a robust platform for conceptualizing, prototyping, evaluating, marketing and researching composite-material vehicle components.

However, despite the transition and innovation Teijin has pursued, the company emphasizes its unchanged corporate philosophy: Enhance people's quality of life through technology that provides real value.