Current rationalization of production capacity and product range

1 Current rationalization of production capacity and product range 

The 1970s were marked by world over-capacity in fibres manufacture following the 1974 boom, and this was inevitably followed by over-capacity in 

Outside Europe, the five major Japanese makers formed a cartel in 1979 for the rationalization of research and manufacturing interests which is likely to strengthen an already strong position (see Table 2.3). 

In the USA there have been major upheavals in two former dye-making concerns. DuPont gave up dye manufacturing in 1979, followed in 1982 by the liquidation of the American Color and Chemical business, in both cases the outcome of world over-capacity. 

2 Computerized continuous manufacture. Although at first sight azo manufacture looks ideally suited to continuous manufacturing processes, a serious difficulty is the relatively low annual outputs of even the largest dye manufactures, since costs can only be effectively reduced by continuous 

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