Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical will invest 110 billion Yen ($977 million) to expand its silicones business in order to meet rising global demand.

The expansion will be implemented in stages over a period of about two and a half years, raising capacity for silicone monomer and various types of silicone fluids, resins and rubber end products.

Shin-Etsu said capacity for silicone monomer will be increased at its existing sites in Japan and Thailand, while production for silicone end products will be expanded at its sites in six countries overseas.

Breaking down its investment, the company will spend about 50 billion Yen on each of the capacity expansions with around 10 billion Yen being invested to expand facilities such as infrastructure and shipping.

The Tokyo-headquartered group expects demand for silicone products to grow at a rate surpassing that of the average increase in the world’s GDP, adding that it sees silicones as a strategically important business.