On 6th Feb 2012, Sumitomo Chemical held a groundbreaking ceremony and a celebration reception for the new solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) manufacturing plant. The S-SBR plant is a high value-add and know-how intensive specialties chemical product that is manufactured using its proprietary process technology. With the S-SBR plant, Singapore is now one of the largest manufacturing sites for synthetic rubber globally.

Minister (T&I) Mr. Lim Hng Kiang was at the celebration reception with Chairman EDB and DD E&C to mark the plant's groundbreaking. Highlighting Sumitomo Chemical's contribution to Singapore, Mr Lim said: "The company's activities in Singapore encompass not only manufacturing, but also headquarter functions and talent development. With cumulative investments of over S$3 billion, Sumitomo Chemical is the largest Japanese investor on Jurong Island."

Masakazu Tokura, president of Sumitomo Chemical Company, said: "The plant is scheduled to be completed in 2013 with an annual production of 40,000 metric tonnes of specialty rubber. This project is an important step for our petro-chemical business because the new facility will be Sumitomo's first synthetic rubber plant build outside Japan."

Sumitomo Chemical's groundbreaking ceremony for its S-SBR plant in Singapore