(Yicai Global) April 22 -- Tayho Advanced Materials, the world's second-biggest supplier of Meta-Aramid, will increase its production to stand up against market leader DuPont and tap China's increasing demand for heat-resistant protective clothing. 

Tayho will spend CNY1.2 billion (USD178.8 million) to build a new Meta-Aramid production line in its home town of Yantai in northeastern Shandong province, the company said in a statement yesterday. The project will have an annual capacity of 8,000 tons, and it is expected to be ready in the third quarter of 2020. The plant involves a technological upgrade to the firm's existent factory, and the construction will start this May. 

China's demand for the Meta-Aramid is climbing nearly 20 percent each year and supply does not meet demand, the statement added. Meta-Aramid is used in the uniforms of firefighters, oilfield workers and miners due to the textile's high resistance to temperature, chemical degradation and abrasion. 

Delaware-based DuPont has an annual capacity of around 20,000 tons of Meta-Aramid, and Tayho tails it with a capacity of 7,000 tons per year. The new project will boost Tayho's tally to 12,000 tons, which will inevitably change the layout of the sector, it added.

Editor: Emmi Laine