Teijin Aramid Recognised with the 2008 Frost & Sullivan European Growth Strategy Leadership Award

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2008 European High Performance Fibres Growth Strategy Leadership Award is presented to Teijin Aramid. Ever since its entry into the aramid fibre market in 2000, the company has been on the fast track to success, achieving a commanding market and technology position in very short time.

"Teijin Aramid has revolutionised the markets for high performance fibres, growing rapidly in stature as a producer of high performance fibres and, in the process, placing aramid fibres on a fast growth curve," notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Hariharan Ramasubramanian. "The company has shown immense commitment to this market by investing in prudent capacity expansion programmes, thereby removing bottlenecks to the wider adoption of aramid fibres in key end user applications."

The lack of available capacity has been one of the major factors restraining growth in the high performance fibres market. Teijin Aramid has, however, been very successful in effecting capacity increase at crucial phases in the market through ambitious expansion programmes such as Niji and Mirai. Plans for an increase in production capacity by 15 per cent, to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2008, are set to reinforce the company's leadership position.

"Teijin Aramid has capitalised on the high demand scenario for its fibres by being ahead of the competition in accurately predicting future demand, and being prepared for it with adequate production capacity," explains Ramasubramanian. "The new capacity that will be available in 2008 will continue this trend and will further cement Teijin Aramid's competitive position in the high performance fibres market."

Teijin Aramid has a very strong brand in its portfolio in the form of Twaron(R), which was among the earliest high performance fibres to be developed. Since the acquisition of the Twaron brand in 2000, Teijin has been very successful in leveraging the positive brand recognition of this innovative product.

More importantly however, it has also been successful in creating other strong brands in the high performance fibres market resulting in a comprehensive product mix. These include the new brands Technora(R), Sulfron(R) and Teijinconex(R).

"The renaming of the company from Teijin Twaron to Teijin Aramid in September 2007 was a culmination of its efforts towards developing this comprehensive product portfolio and moving away from a single product-based growth strategy," adds Ramasubramanian. "This positions Teijin Aramid for fast growth, with the ability to push forward into multiple high growth applications such as aerospace, defence and automotive with its comprehensive brand portfolio."

In the eight years that Teijin has been in the high performance fibres market, it has established itself as a company to emulate in terms of strategic market penetration and growth. Teijin was able to fast track its entry into the difficult-to-penetrate commercial markets for aramid fibres, by identifying the best opportunity to enter into the market through the acquisition of Akzo's aramids fibre business in 2000.

"Its subsequent market growth strategies, including product expansion and capacity augmentation, have ensured that Teijin Aramid capitalised on this strong foundation and established itself as a market leader in high performance fibre," concludes Ramasubramanian. "Furthermore, by focusing on innovation, brand management and by nurturing its customer base, Teijin Aramid has emerged as the trendsetter in growth strategies in the lucrative high performance fibres market."

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Growth Strategy Leadership is presented to the company that has demonstrated an exceptional long-term growth strategy within its industry.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Teijin Aramid

Teijin Aramid is an international company that supplies customers throughout the world with the high-performance aramids Twaron(R), Technora(R) and Teijinconex(R), available as yarn, fiber and pulp, and the aramid-based rubber ingredient Sulfron(R). Production sites are in the Netherlands and Japan. The aramid fibers from Teijin Aramid play a key role wherever strength, safety, durability and low weight are required -- for example, in the automotive industry (tires, hoses, seat belts), in aerospace, civil engineering, leisure goods (e.g. boats), protective clothing (bullet, fire and cut-resistant clothing), optical fiber cables, friction materials and more. To service these global markets, Teijin Aramid has worldwide sales and marketing offices and agents. Teijin Aramid aims to constantly improve its products, explore new areas of application and support customers with new product development. For more information, see http://www.teijinaramid.com.

About the Teijin Group

Teijin Aramid is part of the Teijin Group. Teijin is a global, Tokyo and Osaka-listed, technology-driven company. The organization is made up of five business groups: synthetic fibers, films and plastics, pharmaceuticals and health products, wholesale and retail, IT and new products. Teijin is strongly dedicated to high-performance fibers, such as aramid and holds Corporate Social Responsibility as top priority. Teijin's consolidated sales are USD 8.5 billion. Worldwide, Teijin currently has around 19,000 employees. For more information, see http://www.teijin.co.jp.

     Teijin Aramid Contact Information
     Saskia Verhoeven, Manager Corporate Communication
     Teijin Aramid B.V.
     Phone: +31 26 366 20 30
     E-Mail: saskia.verhoeven@teijinaramid.com
     http://www.teijinaramid.com

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan