Zeon Accelerates Exit from ESBR, NBR Latex as Portfolio Overhaul Advances

Zeon Corp. is moving ahead with plans to streamline its elastomers portfolio, confirming that production at its first emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (ESBR) line will cease during the current fiscal year. The group has also ended the production of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) latex ahead of schedule. This is part of Zeon’s strategy to withdraw from ‘lower-profitability rubber products’ and shift resources towards higher-margin businesses and growth areas. Solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) and hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) remain classified as ‘growth drivers’ alongside battery materials and cyclo olefin polymer (COP) products. Zeon has revised its 2028 outlook for the elastomer materials segment, raising the sales target to Yen220 billion (€1.2 billion) from a previous Yen214 billion estimate. However, the operating profit target for the division has been reduced to Yen10.5 billion from an earlier projection of Yen14.7 billion. The company is also investing in sustainable raw-material technologies linked to the rubber sector, including the development of technology to produce butadiene from ethanol and bio-butadiene and bio-isoprene production routes based on plant-derived feedstocks.