The Mitsubishi Chemical Group will halt manufacturing at its Onahama plant and its Shinryo Corp. plant by the end of March 2027, the company said March 31. Both plants are in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

The two plants manufacture various chemical products and, in recent years, have undertaken initiatives to streamline operations and attract new business in response to major changes in the market environment. Mitsubishi said in a press statement that despite these efforts, securing profitability at these plants has become extremely difficult.

The Onahama plant produces ammonia and its derivatives (ammonium hydroxide), methanol, formalin, wood-based adhesives, fatty acid amides, and process chemicals such as nitric acid, mixed acid and ammonia solution, and triallyl isocyanurate derivatives. 

Shinryo’s Iwaki plant manufactures fine chemical products, triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC), and distilled products. 

Mitsubishi said employees of these plants will be reassigned within the group and provided outplacement support.

The Onahama plant has been operating since Sept. 1937 as Japan Hydrogen Industrial Co., Ltd., and later as Nippon Kasei Chemical Company Limited before becoming part of Mitsubishi. Shinryo’s Iwaki plant was established in October 2020 after the transfer and integration of a number of Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. products and the former Onahama Distillery’s business into Shinryo.