Manufacturer of Tenax™ carbon fibers, prepregs and thermoplastics with production in Heinsberg-Oberbruch.
Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH
Wuppertal · Heinsberg (Oberbruch)New on Amplifa
About Teijin Carbon
Teijin Carbon is the carbon fiber business unit of Teijin Limited (Tokyo) and one of the world's leading manufacturers of carbon fibers and carbon fiber-based materials. In Germany, Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH produces Tenax™ carbon fibers (filament yarn and short fibers), Tenax™ ThermoPlastics and Dry Reinforcements at the Heinsberg-Oberbruch site on four major production lines with an annual capacity of 5,100 tons; around 400 employees are employed there. The European headquarters in Wuppertal with approximately 90 employees consolidates Marketing & Sales as well as Development & Laboratory. The product portfolio comprises resins, prepregs (including rapid-cure systems for aerospace), high-temperature resins, customized sizings, Non-Crimp Fabrics and SMC. Processing steps such as weaving, braiding, winding, pultrusion and compounding complement the value creation. Customer industries include aerospace, automotive, construction, renewable energy, industry, marine, medical, oil and gas, and sporting goods. The origin lies with Toho Rayon, which founded Tenax Fibers in Germany in 1993; in 2018 the company was integrated into Teijin Carbon.
- Site
- Wuppertal
- Processes
- Prepreg manufacturing (rapid cure prepregs, fast-curing resin systems), Weaving, Braiding, Winding, Pultrusion, Compounding, Non-Crimp Fabric manufacturing, SMC (Sheet Molding Compound) manufacturing
- Materials
- Tenax™ Carbon Fiber, Tenax Next™ Carbon Fiber, Pyromex™ (oxidized PAN fiber), Tenax™ ThermoPlastics, ThermoSets, Dry Reinforcements, PEEK, Resins / prepreg systems / high-temperature resins
- Certificates
- ISO 9001:2015, EN 9100:2018, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, ISO 50001:2018, Nadcap, ISCC Plus, AS 9100 D (Rockwood, TN, USA), ISO 9001, EN 9100, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001
- Employees
- approx. 660 (Europe)
- Industries
- Aerospace, Automotive, Construction, Renewable Energy, Industry, Marine
- 01
Precursor production (PAN)
- 02
Carbon fiber production (filament yarn, short fibers)
- 03
Prepreg / ThermoPlastics / Dry Reinforcements
- 04
Weaving, braiding, winding, pultrusion, compounding, SMC
- 05
Technical support & sales
Products & Processing
Tenax™ Carbon Fiber
Filament yarn and short fibers as the basis for composite materials in industry and aviation.
Tenax Next™ Carbon Fiber
Product line with a reduced CO2 footprint and approaches to circular material concepts.
Pyromex™ (oxidized PAN fiber)
Flame-resistant fiber for fire protection and insulation applications.
Tenax™ ThermoPlastics
Thermoplastic carbon fiber products for structural applications.
Dry Reinforcements
Unsized carbon fiber reinforcements for subsequent resin infiltration.
ThermoSets
Thermoset resin systems for composite processing.
Prepreg (incl. rapid cure)
Pre-impregnated semi-finished products with fast-curing resin systems for high-rate aerospace manufacturing.
Non-Crimp Fabric
Multi-layer fiber fabrics for automated composite processes.
SMC (Sheet Molding Compound)
Carbon fiber-based molding compound for pressed parts in the automotive and industrial sectors.
Locations
Wuppertal
DEEuropean headquarters: Marketing & Sales, Development & Laboratory
Heinsberg (Oberbruch)
DEProduction plant Tenax™ Carbon Fibers, ThermoPlastics, Dry Reinforcements; QA and administration
- Materials
- Carbon fiber, thermoplastics, Dry Reinforcements
- 4 carbon fiber production lines
Tokyo
JPCorporate headquarters Teijin Limited (Carbon Fiber Business Unit)
Mishima
JPProduction plant carbon fibers (6,400 t/year), prepreg, precursor
Ibigawa
JPProduction plant Pyromex™ and carbon components
Ha Nam
VNProduction plant carbon fiber products incl. prepreg (since 2021)
Greenwood, SC
USHeadquarters Teijin Carbon America; production plant Tenax™ Carbon Fibers (3,000 t/year)
Rockwood, TN
USProduction plant Pyromex™ and Tenax™ short fibers; Customer Service Center Americas
Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepreg manufacturing (rapid cure prepregs, fast-curing resin systems)Plastics | – | – | – | – | Carbon fiber, Epoxy resin, PEEK |
| WeavingPlastics | – | – | – | – | Carbon fiber |
| BraidingPlastics | – | – | – | – | Carbon fiber |
| WindingPlastics | – | – | – | – | Carbon fiber |
| PultrusionPlastics | – | – | – | – | Carbon fiber, Resins |
| CompoundingPlastics | – | – | – | – | Thermoplastics, Carbon fiber (short fibers) |
| Non-Crimp Fabric manufacturingPlastics | – | – | – | – | Carbon fiber |
| SMC (Sheet Molding Compound) manufacturingPlastics | – | – | – | – | Carbon fiber, ThermoSets |
| Carbon fiber production (filament yarn, short fibers)Other | – | – | – | – | Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor, Carbon fiber |
| Pyromex™ flame protection fiber production and carbon componentsOther | – | – | – | – | Oxidized PAN fiber (Pyromex™) |
Additional services
Quality & Certificates
Teijin Carbon manufactures according to international quality standards; in addition to ISO 9001, several sites are certified to aerospace standards (AS/EN/JIS Q 9100, Nadcap) as well as to ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001.
| Evidence | Wuppertal |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | |
| EN 9100 | |
| ISO 14001 | |
| ISO 45001 | |
| ISO 50001 | |
| Nadcap | |
| ISCC Plus |
Company History
- 1918
Founding of Teijin as Japan's first artificial silk manufacturer
- 1934
Founding of Toho Synthetic Fiber Co., Ltd.
- 1950
Founding of Toho Rayon Co., Ltd.
- 1969
Start of carbon fiber research
- 1975
Market entry into carbon fibers (Besfight®); first mass production line for Pyromex™ in Mishima
- 1977
Start of prepreg manufacturing
- 1986
40 years of carbon fiber production in Heinsberg-Oberbruch (production start ~1986)
- 1993
Tenax Fibers founded in Germany; Toho Carbon Fibers in the USA
- 2000
Teijin becomes majority shareholder of Toho Rayon
- 2001
Renaming to Toho Tenax
- 2004
Acquisition of Fortafil Fibers (USA)
- 2006
Brand name Besfight → Tenax; production line #3 in Oberbruch
- 2007
Toho Tenax becomes a 100% subsidiary of Teijin Limited
- 2010
Full commissioning of production line #4 in Oberbruch
- 2011
EN 9100 certification of Toho Tenax Europe
- 2018
Integration of Toho Tenax into Teijin Limited; renaming to Teijin Carbon (Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH)
- 2021
Commercial operations start of Teijin Carbon Vietnam (Ha Nam)
- 2026
40 years of carbon fiber production at the Heinsberg-Oberbruch site