is a Japanese company that manufactures disposable hygiene products, household cleaning products, specializing in the manufacture of

diapers A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or conta ...

for both babies and adult incontinence,

feminine hygiene Feminine hygiene products are personal care products used during menstruation, vaginal discharge, and other bodily functions related to the vulva and vagina. Products that are used during menstruation may also be called menstrual hygiene produ ...

products and pet care products. The company has operations in 80 countries and is a market leader in Asia in baby and feminine care products. It holds the top share of diaper sales in China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. Also its market share is rapidly expanding in India, nearly doubling its sales every two years.

History

Unicharm traces its roots to the Taisei Kako Co., Ltd., founded by

Keiichiro Takahara was a Japanese billionaire businessman, the chairman and founder of Unicharm. Early life Career Personal life Takahara was married with three children and lived in Tokyo. His son Takahisa Takahara is president and CEO of Unicharm. Accordi ...

. Takahara's family operated a paper manufacturing business in Shikoku. After resigning in 1961 from his father's paper manufacturing company, he founded his own, Taisei Kako (Taisei Chemical Works). He then turned his attention to the manufacture and sale of selling wood wool cement board. Then the company in 1963 ventured to manufacture and sell

sanitary napkin Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems a ...

s. The company then started selling

tampon A tampon is a feminine hygiene, menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation. Unlike a Sanitary napkin, pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal. Once inser ...

s in 1974, when Unicharm Corporation was founded to separate the feminine care production from the main company.

Operations

The company has a number of prominent brands in its portfolio, including MamyPoko, Charm, Moony, BabyJoy, Babylove, Sofy and Lifree, Teemo. In December 2011, Unicharm acquired 51% ownership of pet products maker Hartz Mountain Corporation from

Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest worldwide ''sogo shosha'' general trading companies, and is a diversified corporation. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is a member company of the Sumitomo Group. It is listed on three Japanese stock exchanges ( ...

References

External links

* Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Manufacturing companies established in 1961 Japanese companies established in 1961 Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Chemical companies based in Tokyo Pulp and paper companies of Japan Personal care companies Mitsubishi Japanese brands 1980s initial public offerings {{Japan-company-stub