*This press release is an English translation of LIXIL Corporation’s press release issued on March.15, 2012 in JapanFor Immediate Release
March 15, 2012
LIXIL Corporation

LIXIL Announces Technology Collaboration with Panel Plus of Thailand toDevelop Environmentally Friendly Particle Boards for Interior Building Materials.
Tokyo, Japan – LIXIL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of housing fixtures and building materials(President, Yoshiaki Fujimori; Headquarter, Tokyo), announced on the start of technology
collaboration efforts with

Panel Plus Co., Ltd., a leading supplier of particle board (ManagingDirector, Amporn Kanjanakumnerd; Headquarter, Bangkok). LIXIL and Panel Plus will begin atechnology collaboration to develop bagasse boards that are friendly to environment featuring on
Super E0 (F☆☆☆☆) ratings*, high strength, light weight, moisture resistance and other advanced
properties.
This Collaboration originated with LIXIL’s drive to improve its technologies to be more sustainable
and friendly to environment. The LIXIL Group announced its Environmental Vision in December
2011, and in support of its growing global presence, is actively promoting the Vision’s obligations
that should be fulfilled by companies in the housing and living solutions industry to address global
environmental and energy problems:
We, the LIXIL Group, seeks by 2050 the net zero balance between a full, bountiful way ofliving and an acceptable burden on the earth’s environment, leading the world in the
housing and living amenities industry.
LIXIL has produced and marketed a vast range of building fixture and material products that
promote energy and water conservation, but interior building materials still continue to besignificantly wood-based raw materials. Using wood resources with care and conserving forest areimportant issues for manufacturers, and LIXIL has been consistently active in developing suchtechnologies.
The search for a suitable partner sharing this vision led to Panel Plus of Thailand.

Panel Plus, asubsidiary of Mitr Phol Sugar Group, has been producing particle boards from bagasse, the residue
or waste from sugar production, for the past 20 years with high technology and professionalmanagement.

The production process, reflecting on the determination to fully utilize natural

resource by using recycle waste from its affiliated group company, makes Panel Plus theoutstanding role model for environmental conservation.
The collaboration between the two companies will enhance the development of particle board to thetop quality of building materials and meeting the demands of consumers not only in Asia but also
*Super E0 is a rating that indicates the lowest level of formaldehyde emission; formaldehyde is considered to be amajor cause of sick-building syndrome. F☆☆☆☆(read;F4 Star) rating is a Japanese standard.

the rest of the world. In developing nations, urbanization has increase housing construction andgive rise to concern about sick-building syndrome. We hope that the new high quality particle board
and friendly to environment will become the material of choice for all people, especially those whoare concerned about good health and comfortable living.
About Panel Plus Co., Ltd.
Panel Plus is a subsidiary of Mitr Phol Sugar Group, the world 5th largest sugar production capacity andThailand’s leading sugar producer and exporter. The company has been established since 1990 toproduce particle board with high technology and friendly to environment, using bagasse left from sugar
production as the main materials.
In 2004, Panel Plus acquired a particle board production line in Hatyai (Songkhla province) using
overage rubber woods as raw material. Recently, the company has established new lines of production
to produce melamine impregnated paper and melamine faced chipboard to serve customers both indomestic and overseas markets.
The company’s total production capacity for plain particle board stands at 350,000 cubic meters and thetotal production of melamine impregnated paper at 23.5 million square meters.
Company Name:
Established Since:
Manufacturing Sites:

Number of Employee:
Ownership:
Website:Panel Plus Co., Ltd.
1990
Chaiyaphum Province (bagasse board production)
Songkhla Province (rubber board production)
Samutsakorn Province (melamine face chip board production)
720
100% Thai Nationality
www.panelplus.co.th

Bagasse board
Bagasse is the residue left from sugar production.
Adhesives and other ingredients are added to thebagasse fiber, then compressed to form a board.
Similar to particle board made from rubber wood
residue, it is used for furniture and interior building
material.

Example of finished product; after coating, used inmany interior building applications.