By the turn of the year 1998/99, Toray Plastics Europe S.A. (St. Maurice de Beynost, BP 140, F-10701 Miribel) will have increased its PET film production capacity at its facility near Lyon by 15,000 t/a to 50,000 t/a. The current investment program of around DEM 30m also includes a metallising unit integrated in the film process which is based on the Toray technology already used in Japan, North America and south-east Asia. Together with all the projects launched at the time the company was acquired from Rhone-Poulenc in 1996, some DEM 300m has been invested in the French site.

With the production of the "Claryl" metallised polyester film in Europe, Toray is "combining its comprehensive know-how in the fields of polymerisation, film production and vacuum metallisation at a single site, and thus considerably strengthening its position and competitiveness on the European market for flexible packaging materials."