Teijin Monofilament in Spartanburg Shutting Down

Teijin Limited has announced plans to dissolve Teijin Group monofilament production and sales

subsidiary Teijin Monofilament U.S., Inc., based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the United States, and to

liquidate the company at the end of December 2009. Monofilaments are single filaments of

synthetic fiber of a comparatively high denier, used in the manufacture of paper and for general

industrial materials.

In December 2000 Teijin Limited purchased the U.S. and German monofilament businesses of

Delaware-based Johns Manville Corporation of the United States. In 2001, the businesses were

merged with existing subsidiary Teijin Monofilament Limited, which is headquartered in Tokyo,

Japan, creating a three-pronged network of production bases in Japan, the United States and

Europe and facilitating the global expansion of this business.

In subsequent years, owing to changing conditions in the market for paper machine clothing

(PMC), the principal application for monofilaments—including the shift of customers’

production bases to Central and South America, as well as the attenuation of the North

American market—securing profitability for the company became increasingly difficult.

In response, Teijin Monofilament U.S. sought to cultivate applications in areas other than PMC,

such as industrial materials. However, as these were in sectors dominated by products with low

sales prices, this effort did not result in increased profitability. Since fiscal 2005, profitability

has continued to deteriorate, owing to soaring prices for raw materials. The company’s

performance has further been hampered by the recent global economic downturn. Having

concluded that a future return to stable profitability is unlikely, Teijin took the decision to dissolve

and liquidate the company.

Schedule

Cessation of sales: End of October 2009

Liquidation: End of December 2009

Supply of products to customers: The company will continue producing sufficient

quantities to fill orders until the end of October 2009.

Subsequent to liquidation: Depending on orders, product supplies will continue, led

by Teijin Monofilament Germany GmbH.

Profile of Teijin Monofilament U.S., Inc.

Date of establishment: November 2000

Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States

President: Alexander Kirzinger

Principal operations: Production and sales of monofilaments

Annual production capacity: 4,000 tons

Paid-in capital: US$14.1 million

Annual net sales: US$28.5 million (year ended December 31, 2008)

About Teijin

Teijin is a global technology-driven group operating in five main fields: synthetic fibers; films and

plastics; pharmaceuticals and home health care; trading and retail; and IT and new products. Teijin

Limited, the holding company for the Teijin Group, is listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock

exchanges. The group had consolidated sales of USD 9.4 billion (JPY 943.4 billion, USD 1=JPY

100) in fiscal 2008 and employs 19,453 people in 169 companies worldwide.

For more information, please visit http://www.teijin.co.jp/english