Adeka Corporation is stepping up production of its high-performance polypropylene clarifier Transparex, announcing plans to build a new manufacturing plant at the Jeonju No. 3 Plant of its South Korean subsidiary, Adeka Korea Corporation.
The investment comes as demand grows for materials that can support plastic recycling and reduce reliance on virgin petrochemical feedstocks. Adeka says adoption of Transparex is expanding worldwide across packaging, medical products, automotive components and consumer goods.
Polypropylene (PP) is already widely used in food packaging, automotive bumpers and other products because it is lightweight, easy to process, heat-resistant and durable. But its relatively poor transparency has limited its use in applications where appearance is critical.
Adeka launched Transparex in November 2024 to address that limitation and help expand polypropylene's use as a mono-material solution. The clarifier can give PP glass-like transparency while requiring a low dosage and maintaining performance through recycling.
The product received a major boost in 2025 when it was recognized by Guinness Worlds Records as the "Most effective clarifier for polypropylene transparency."
Adeka also highlights Transparedx's heat and chemical resistance, along with its ability to retain performance during recycling. Those characteristics have helped drive its adoption across a growing range of end markets.
With demand expected to accelerate, Adeka is adding its own manufacturing capacity alongside existing contract manufacturing arrangements to secure a stable supply of Transparex.
The new plant will be built using available space at the Jeonju No. 3 site, which ADEKA acquired in 2018. The facility currently houses manufacturing operations for next-generation and future-generation semiconductor materials.
The project will also mark Adeka Korea's first capital investment in polymer additives manufacturing facilities in nine years.
Adeka is targeting an even bigger expansion of the global clarifier business. The group aims to grow the global clarifier market to more than ¥50 billion by fiscal 2030, up from ¥30 billion in fiscal 2024, while increasing its market share to more than 60%, compared with 14% in fiscal 2024.
