Showa Denko Materials Establishes a Manufacturing Base for Automotive Molded Plastic Rear Door Modules in Wuhan, China

May 24, 2021

Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd.

Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Hisashi Maruyama; hereinafter “Showa Denko Materials”) held an opening ceremony on May 21 to mark the completion of a facility at the Wuhan Branch established by its consolidated subsidiary SD Automotive Products (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd. (Chairman, Shigeki Katogi, Zhengzhou, Henan, China, hereinafter “SDAZZ”) in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China, in November 2019. About 100 people, including Wuhan city government officials and business partners, attended the event.
The Wuhan Branch will begin mass production of automotive molded plastic rear door modules in the autumn of 2021, following the facility’s trial operation.

Showa Denko Materials’ rear door module is a modularized plastic door component incorporating rear window glass, taillights, and other parts. Our superior resin materials and component structure designs, and molding and bonding technologies are utilized to secure the necessary product strength and rigidity as well as achieve a lighter door weight and a higher degree of design flexibility than conventional steel-made rear doors. These features are well-received, and our modules are adopted primarily for sport utility vehicles.
The automobile market is currently recovering from the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and is expected to expand further, with electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and other electric-powered vehicles projected to dominate more than half the entire automobile market by 2030.^※
China has already become the world’s largest automobile market and continues to expand rapidly as the world’s largest EV market as well. Showa Denko Materials aims to establish a system responding to the growing demand with the start of operations at the Wuhan Branch as the second manufacturing base following SDAZZ, while ensuring speedy product deliveries to customers to stabilize its supply chains.

The Showa Denko Group positions mobility as a core growth business driving its future growth. The Group will continue to contribute to society as a company that identifies customer needs accurately and provides solutions to the challenges lying ahead.

• ※ Source: IHS Markit

Outline of SDAZZ

Outline of Wuhan Branch

• To Japanese