Toho Tenax Begins Operation of Fourth Carbon Fiber Production Line in Germany

Toho Tenax Co., Ltd., the core company of the Teijin Group's carbon fibers business, announced today that its German subsidiary, Toho Tenax Europe GmbH (TTE), began full-fledged operation of its fourth carbon fiber production line (Line 4) at the Oberbruch plant this month, after first starting up the line in September.

The 1,700-ton-capacity Line 4 was completed in August 2009, but as a result of declining demand for carbon fiber due to the economic downturn since the fall of 2008, the line's originally scheduled startup was postponed as part of adjustments to the Toho Tenax group's global production in Japan, Germany and the United States.

With demand increasing this year, particularly for aircraft, sports, leisure and industrial applications such as wind power generation, Toho Tenax decided to begin operating the new line to optimize global production.

Toho Tenax expects the carbon fiber sales, which had decreased to about 23,000 tons in 2009, to increase about 15% annually from this year. Looking ahead, Toho Tenax intends to further optimize production in Japan, Germany and the United States to meet growing demand.

About the Teijin Group

Based in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, Teijin is a global technology-driven group operating in eight main fields: aramid fibers, carbon fibers, polyester fibers, plastics, films, medical & pharmaceuticals, fiber products marketing and IT businesses. Teijin Limited, the holding company for the Teijin Group, is listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. The group had consolidated sales of USD 8.5 billion (JPY 765.8 billion, USD 1=JPY 90) in fiscal 2009 and employs 18,778 people worldwide, with 156 companies around the world. Please visit www.teijin.co.jp/english