Nippon Shokubai Co., at its recent board meeting, approved an investment plan by its Nippon Shokubai Indonesia (NSI) subsidiary to increase superabsorbent polymers (SAP) capacity at its existing site in Cilegon, Banten, Indonesia. The project, requiring an investment of around USD 110-million, will involve construction of a new 50 kta SAP plant that will raise the site’s SAP production capacity to a total of 140 kta. Mechanical completion is scheduled for January 2027 with commercial operation starting in July 2027. The new SAP facility will be vertically integrated with NSI’s expanded acrylic acid (AA) plant at the site. Nippon Shokubai will consider shutting down some of its older SAP production units with relatively low productivity in Himeji, Japan, to optimize the company’s global SAP supply network.