Cariflex Breaks Ground On World’s Largest Polyisoprene Latex Plant in Singapore With Over US$350M Investment

The global market leader in polyisoprene rubber latex for medical end markets, Cariflex Pte. Ltd. (Cariflex), broke ground today at a 6.1 hectares site in Jurong Island, Singapore. Cariflex will be constructing the world’s largest and Singapore’s first polyisoprene latex plant on this site. Driven by a strong commitment to better serve its global customers in medical and consumer products, this investment represents the largest capacity expansion in Cariflex’s existing accomplishments.

Cariflex moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020 as a wholly owned subsidiary of DL Chemical Co., Ltd. DL Chemical Co., Ltd is a global petrochemical company and a part of DL Group [KRW 12.3T (US$10.8B) Revenue in 2021], a global developer, and Korea's first construction company established in 1939. DL Holdings is also the majority shareholder of DL E&C Co., Ltd, an affiliate company with expertise in civil engineering and construction and the lead contracting partner executing this project in Singapore.

Cariflex’s polyisoprene rubber latex (CariflexTM IR Latex) is a synthetic, water-based polymer latex, suitable for a wide range of high value applications. Surgical gloves and condoms represent the key end markets that CariflexTM IR Latex are used for, on account of its unique value proposition as an alternative to natural rubber latex.

The Singapore plant will play a vital role in Cariflex’s manufacturing supply versatility to serve their customers in Southeast Asia, where the world’s key manufacturing plants of surgical gloves and condoms are located.

Over the past two decades, Cariflex has consistently and promptly upgraded, debottlenecked and expanded capacity at their existing manufacturing locations in Brazil and Japan to meet the growing volume needs of its customers and the marketspace. Cariflex successfully completed its latest major expansion in 2021, doubling its polyisoprene latex capacity at the Paulinia Facility, Brazil, with an investment of US$50M.

The plant is expected to be operational by the second half of 2024 and will create at least 70 permanent jobs for the first phase of the project. These include roles in engineering, production, quality, supply chain, and other manufacturing support functions. During the peak of construction, Cariflex expects more than 1,500 workers to be employed onsite.

“The Singapore plant is expected to increase our global polyisoprene latex production capacity by over 50%. This project preserves and maintains our polyisoprene latex market leading position in terms of combined capacity, number of locations, and production lines to deliver the best-in-class consistent product quality. This gives our customers full confidence to further rely on CariflexTM IR Latex as a sustainable source to grow their business,” added Mr Kolluri.

Cariflex’s investment and expansion into Singapore is strongly supported by Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and JTC Corporation (JTC), two statutory boards under Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.