Kureha Corporation (株式会社クレハ, Kabushiki-gaisha Kureha) is a Japanese manufacturer of specialty chemicals, polymers and agrichemicals.[3]

Kureha Corporation
Native name
株式会社クレハ
Company typePublic KK
TYO: 4023
ISINJP3271600003
IndustryChemicals
FoundedJune 21, 1944; 80 years ago (1944-06-21)
Headquarters,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Yutaka Kobayashi
(President and CEO)
Products
  • Functional materials
  • Specialty chemicals
  • Plastics
RevenueIncrease JPY 147.3 billion (FY 2017) (US$ 1.39 billion) (FY 2017)
Increase JPY 9.7 billion (FY 2017) (US$ 91.5 million) (FY 2017)
Number of employees
4,374 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2018)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

Corporate affairs

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Kureha Chemical Industries is a member of the Mizuho keiretsu.

Products

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Polyglycolic acid

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One of the company's long-term investments is in polyglycolic acid (PGA). The company developed a mass scale manufacturing technique for the chemical, which has been a development project of the company since the early 90s.[4] The company has stated a strategy of committing to invest in PGA for a long period, patiently waiting for market demand to develop.[4] To manufacture PGA, the company invested 100 million in a manufacturing facility in Belle, West Virginia to be located nearby a Dupont plant that produces glycolic acid, a primary feedstock for PGA.[4]

Polyphenylene sulfide

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Kureha is the world's largest producer of polyphenylene sulfide, a heat-resistant polymer is used in industrial applications such as automotive electronics.[4] The polymer its produced at the company's site in Iwaki, Japan[5] and in Wilmington, United States by Fortron Industries, a joint venture of Kureha and Celanese.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Corporate Profile". Kureha Corporation. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "About the company". Financial Times. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Umemura, Maki (March 2, 2011). The Japanese Pharmaceutical Industry: Its Evolution and Current Challenges. Taylor & Francis. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-136-82825-6.
  4. ^ a b c d McCoy, Michael (April 28, 2008). "Kureha's Gamble: Japanese firm goes to West Virginia to build novel chemical plant". Analyst (London). Chemical & Engineering News. ISSN 0009-2347. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  5. ^ "Business Roundup". Analyst (London). Vol. 96, no. 15. Chemical & Engineering News. April 9, 2018. ISSN 0009-2347. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Celanese increases Fortron PPS productiont". Composites World. Gardner Business Media. August 16, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
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