Nihon Seiko to Raise Antimony Output, Lineup, Quality

Japanese largest antimony trioxide maker, Nihon Seiko expands antimony products line. The firm expanded antimony trioxide output capacity to 2.6 times while the firm can offer fine powder products. The firm also adds process to improve quality of antimony products with 99.999% purity providing mainly to semiconductor application.

The firm makes antimony trioxide from Chinese antimony ingot at Nakase refinery in Hyogo. The firm tries to expand the business with around 7,000 tonnes of annual output by developing new products when the competition gets severe with Chinese suppliers.

The firm provides antimony trioxide finer powder, which is used for antifriction agent of automotive brake. The firm adds powder with averaged 6 micrometers of diameter while the firm had powder products with minimum 8 micrometers diameter before.

The firm added the production equipment at Nakase refinery to make finer powder. The new production capacity is 80 tonnes per month compared with 30 tonnes for existing capacity. The firm shifts the production from old facility to new facility in order to develop finer powder users.

The firm expands the development for high purity antimony with 99.999% purity. The firm already developed the process and improves the quality for marketing. The firm eyes the specialized production plant for the high purity products when the demand is expected to increase for semiconductor and thermoelectric transducer applications.