The chart below shows the production capacities of major manufacturers of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) in the world. The total production capacity of these nine manufacturers is 3,237,000 tons/year. The top three companies, BASF AG, Nippon Shokubai and Evonik Industries, occupy 51% of the production, and the output of each company exceeds 500,000 tons/year.

BASF AG capacity increased to 595,000 tons/year in conjunction with the start of its production in Brazil, which added 60,000 tons/year. This made BASF the top manufacturer, overtaking the Nippon Shokubai.

Nippon Shokubai is planning to install more equipment in Japan, which will add 50,000 tons/year in 2016. The company is also building a facility able to to make 100,000 tons/year in Europe (Belgium) which will come onstream in 2018. With these additions, Nippon Shokubai’s production capacity will be scaled up to 710,000 tons/year by the end of 2018. Meanwhile, SDP Global added more than 80,000 tons/year in China this year, with the company’s production capacity scaling up to 360,000 tons/year. In addition, the company is going to establish another production base in Malaysia brining its to 80,000 tons/year in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, the company plans to establish another production base in North America, corresponding to the demand expansion in South America.

LG Chemical in Korea added 80,000 tons/year, bringing its total output to 360,000 tons/year in 2015. Now its production capacity is on par with SDP Global. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Seika Chemicals added 40,000 tons/year its total output to 326,000 tons/year in Japan. Furthermore, the company is adding 59,000 tons/year in Korea in 2016. The foreign-capital-affiliated SAP manufacturer has major production capacities in China, and some local enterprises have also undertaken SAP production. Among them, Danson Technology has the annual capacity of 260,000 tons/year, while Shenghong Group has a capacity of 80,000 tons/year. In addition, there are several SAP manufacturers with annual capacity of 30,000–50,000 tons/year.

Regional production capacities are shown int  Table 1 are as follows: China’s annual capacity is 740,000 tons/year (23% share); Japan’s annual capacity is 660,000 tons/year (20% share); Europe’s annual capacity is 542,000 tons/year (17% share); the U.S.’s annual capacity is 501,000 tons/year (16% share); Korea’s annual capacity is 360,000 tons/year (11% share); and others are 434,000 tons/year (13% share). Due to the high demand for SAP in China, production capacity in the country will grow significantly in the future.