Kao Corporation has announced the expansion of production facilities at the Olesa Plant of Kao Chemicals Europe in Spain, as well as expand market share in the European market for methyl dihydrojasmonate (MDJ), a synthetic fragrance.
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MDJ is a basic fragrance material that provides a refined, fresh, floral (jasmine) fragrance, and which is used in a wide range of consumer products. MDJ is utilized across a wide variety of different products, because of its good compatibility with other materials. Demand in Europe, which is the biggest market for MDJ, has remained steady, and global demand is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 4%.
Kao has been producing MDJ in Spain since 2001. The new production facility, which is expected to more than double Kao's MDJ production capacity in Spain, will be completed by December 2022, and is scheduled to begin production in early 2023. The new production facility will utilize manufacturing methods that feature Kao-developed technology. The enhanced productivity will cut CO2 emissions by 2,000 tons per year, while also reducing the amount of energy needed for waste water treatment by eliminating all saline waste water (which currently amounts to around 850 tons per year).
