The new liquid carbon dioxide plant which, as previously reported, Iwatani had been constructing on the premises of Hydro Edge in Sakai has been completed and commenced commercial operation in October. The new plant is called Sakai Carbonics and produces liquid carbon dioxide using the Cosmos Oil refinery as its source. It has a production capacity of 33,000 tons a year, with four 100 ton capacity storage tanks and three shipping lane for trucks. It seems that the investment for this facility amounted to JPY1.4 billion.

Among liquid carbon gas production centers in the Kansai Area, in March of this year the Ube Industries plant in Sakai shut down when it withdrew from the production of ammonia. Iwatani had held the main rights for the amount produced at this plant.

An issue now is getting hold of another source. Iwatani has finalized negotiations with Cosmos Oil regarding a supply of crude gas from the Cosmos Oil plant in Sakai. Iwatani has been rushing to build new plants. It had been constructing an air separation gas plant and a liquid hydrogen plant of its affiliate, located on the grounds of Hydro Edge in the Semboku industrial complex. The new plant will specialize in handling shipments using liquid gas trucks and will not engage in the production of dry ice. The company is also constructing four new 100 ton tanks to enable a stable supply to the Chugoku area and Shikoku in western Japan. The market for liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice has been affected by a drop in the ammonia synthesizing and oil refining industries which are the sources of the gas, as well as a rethinking of the production setup. Disappearance and decrease of sources and a drop of the amount supplied are occurring constantly. Even other than the largest demand during the height of the summer heat, the market runs serious risks such as the protraction of regularly scheduled maintenance, and breakdowns occur at plants. The industry has come up with countermeasures such as expansion of transportation between production centers, the development of new sources, and the importation of dry ice from Korea. The current new plant production is just one more in the round of countermeasures. In addition to this new plant, the company will striving to make optimum use of its existing sources in Chiba, Mie, and Yamaguchi Prefectures and be making an effort to have even more stability in supply.