The Sumitomo Seika Chemicals’ oxygen PSA business is doing well with 11 units sold in 2011 and 2 already sold this year. Kiyoaki Iwai, manager of the Equipment Systems Department of the Industrial Gas Division noted, “Although business results last year were affected by the earthquake, I feel that they were still pretty fair. It seems that this year too the tough environment we are facing will continue, but I would like to maintain the same number of units sold as last year.”

In 2011 the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake affected the situation greatly. There were virtually no orders from such central areas of PSA demand such as electric furnaces, glass, and paper. For rubbish melting, which could be said to be in the realm of the public sector, there were orders from 5 locations nationwide and Sumitomo Seika Chemicals accept 4 orders of those.

Overseas there were order for electric furnaces from Indonesia, Taiwan, and regarding non ferrous metals one from the Philippines, making for a total of 3. In all of these cases the orders were for large units, exceeding 1,000 m3/h. However, because of the uncertainty of where the global economy is headed, this year orders from overseas are greatly decreasing.

As for domestic orders for this year, there was an order from a major electric furnace producer for a unit with a capacity of 2,000 m3 an hour with a purity level of 93%. In addition, a formal contract was signed for an order from a Korean glass producer for its plant in Vietnam, with a capacity of 750 m3 an hour with a purity level of 93%. It seems that an order for 2 large scale units will be obtained from a Russian non ferrous metals producer. As Iwai put it, “I would really like to do something.” They have not yet sent any PSA units to Russia, and if this deal goes through it will be the first.

Besides oxygen PSA, the company making an effort to get orders for argon recovery units from companies in the solar cell sector. They have been expanding sales activities since the year before last, mainly in China. However decisions regarding just cannot be made as everything depends on what is happening in the argon market. Again, as Iwai noted, “Deliberations regarding bringing products into China have ceased but we have several promising business deals in the works in Korea and China. We are really looking forward to these.”