China is in hot pursuit of next-generation car development, with not only automakers rushing to develop the next generation of smart cars but the information and communications technology (ICT) sector as well. And now also trying to cut their way in on the action are European and U.S. auto parts manufacturers. Germany’s Continental AG entered...
Sekisui Chemical
Sekisui Chemical to Invest 20B Yen in Automotive Glass Interlayers and Raw Material
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO: 4204) will invest 20 billion yen ($182 million) to expand production of automotive glass interlayers and their raw material, polyvinyl butyral (PVB). Sekisui Chemical is an industry leader in high-performance interlayers, which prevent the breaking and shattering of glass and also block noise and heat. Amidst expanding use of Sekisui...
Major Chemical Companies Achieve Soaring Profits on Back of Favorable Petrochemical Market – Part 1
Major Japanese chemical companies have released their financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2017, with each reporting an increase in net profit. Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) in particular saw large profit margins, as the companies rode favorable petrochemical market conditions. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. (TYO:4188) displayed strong sales of...
Sekisui Chemical to Acquire Polymatech Japan
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) announced plans on April 25 for an acquisition of Polymatech Japan Co. Ltd., a Saitama-based supplier of heat dissipation materials that incorporate silicone, by August 2017. With the acquisition, Sekisui Chemical will obtain advanced technologies that will help it meet an anticipated growth in demand for processed products that incorporate...
Sekisui Chemical to Inject 200 Billion Yen Into Strategic Investments
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) announced on April 12 a new medium-term business plan for fiscal 2017 to 2019. The Japanese chemical company has set a goal of 1.2 trillion yen ($11 billion) in operating income for the final year of the plan. To meet this goal, Sekisui Chemical will make 200 billion yen in...
Sekisui Chemical to Establish Chinese Company for Polyolefin Foam Production
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) announced on March 24 that it will establish a company in Wuxi, China, for the production of polyolefin foam to be used in automotive interiors. Sekisui Chemical will invest approximately 2.5 billion yen ($22.59 million) to build a new factory that will begin operations at some point in the first...
Sekisui Chemical Develops New CFRP Manufacturing Process, Promising Potential for Wind Turbine Blades
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) on Feb. 27 announced the development of a new way to manufacture and mold thermoplastic carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). The process works by opening carbon fiber bundles with which a composite with polypropylene (PP) is formed. This composite is then continuously molded into sheets or a ribbed structure. The...
Four Major Chemical Companies Anticipate Record Profits for Fiscal 2016
Eight major chemical companies have announced their earnings for April through December 2016. Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) recorded healthy profits as a result of robust earnings from petrochemical products and basic chemicals. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.’s (TYO:4063) profits were driven by Shintech Inc., the company’s U.S.-based polyvinyl chloride subsidiary. Seven companies...
Industry Outlook 2017: Lithium-Ion Batteries
The lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) industry appears set to have a historic year in 2017. This is primarily due to the fact that Tesla Motors and Panasonic Corp.’s (TYO:6752) Nevada-based LiB Gigafactory will begin operating. The Gigafactory’s production capacity will be greater than that of the total number of LiBs produced globally in 2013. Tesla...
Sekisui Chemical, Dai Nippon Printing Use Solar Cell Technology to Develop Electronic Paper
In a collaboration involving Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd. (TYO:7912), Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) has produced an electronic paper prototype that uses a film-type dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) as the driving source. Possible applications for this electronic paper include guide displays for when disasters strike and advertising panels for convenience stores. Those behind the...
Sekisui Chemical Develops Solder Resist Inkjet Technology
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) has developed a high-precision coating technology using an inkjet method for solder resist to protect the wires on semiconductor substrates. The volume of resist used is reduced to one tenth of existing technologies and it is capable of improving productivity some three times over. Solder resist is used to protect...
Bulk Chemicals Drive Higher Profits in April–September Reports by Major Manufacturers
Seven major chemical companies simultaneously announced earnings for April through September 2016. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. (TYO:4188), Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) and Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407), the top three in terms of net sales, reported lower operating income due to a higher yen. Meanwhile four other companies reported higher operating income: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co....
Universal Materials Incubator Fund to Invest in FJ Composite Materials and Goryo Chemical
Universal Materials Incubator Co. Ltd. (UMI) will invest in two venture companies, one of them being FJ Composite Materials Co. Ltd., a Chitose, Hokkaido-based firm that is developing high-performance semiconductor heat sinks. UMI will help commercialize promising next-generation technologies in materials and chemicals. After nurturing a technology into a business that generates a certain amount...
Sekisui Chemical Develops New, High-performance Plastic Sheets for Aircraft Seats
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4204) will strengthen its operations in high-performance plastic sheets for use in airplane seats. The company has developed a technology to permeate letters and prints inside the surface of sheets with a special dye, with a feature being that patterns are not prone to wearing off from friction. Computer graphics enable...
