Yupo Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of synthetic paper. It is the largest manufacturer of synthetic paper in the world with a 70% market share. It is owned by

Mitsubishi Chemical , or MCC, is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. It is a Japanese corporation, that merged with Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation in 2005 to create Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. Mitsubishi Chemical is the largest ...

and Oji Holdings, also known as the

Oji Paper Company is a Japanese manufacturer of paper products. In 2012 the company was the third largest company in the global forest, paper and packaging industry. The company's stock is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the stock is constituent of the Ni ...

. The firm produces the Yupo brand of

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...

synthetic paper.

History

Yupo Corporation was established as Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Co. Ltd in 1970 as a 50/50 joint venture between Oji Paper (now Oji Holdings) and Mitsubishi Petrochemical (now Mitsubishi Chemical). One year prior in 1969, the two companies had established Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Research Institute Co., Ltd. While they did work on the development of new products, the company was established because they had developed manufacturing techniques for synthetic paper made of polypropylene.Company history, P.143-144 At the time, it attracted a great deal of attention as a joint venture between the

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

and Mitsui systems that went beyond the usual

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signi ...

framework. The brand name of the synthetic paper is Yupo, which is a combination of "YU" from Mitsubishi Yuka, "P" from paper, and "O" from Oji Paper Co. The initial strategy was to sell their products as a substitute for

coated paper Coated paper (also known as enamel paper, gloss paper, and thin paper) is paper that has been coated by a mixture of materials or a polymer to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness, or reduced ink absor ...

and other similar products, but the cost increase caused by the

1970s energy crisis The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...

made them change that strategy to sell it instead for applications which paper was ill suited for. For a long time, the Kashima Plant in

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

was the only production base, but due to the growth in exports, Yupo expanded to a second production base in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1998 for domestic production and sales.Company history main edition, P.470-472 A sales company was also established in Europe in 2000. Yupo also has multiple sales offices in Asia.

Chronology

2008 TIGAX Yupo a sample of slap-sticker

* 1969, May 10 - Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Research Institute established. * 1970, May 25 - Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Co., Ltd. established with investment from Mitsubishi Yuka and Oji Paper. * 1971, July - Kashima factory starts operation. * 1973, January - Merged with Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Research Laboratory and integrated production and development. * 1975, February 1 - Mitsubishi Yuka and Oji Paper consolidate sales departments to establish Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Sales Co., Ltd. * 1982, January 1 - Merged with sales department Oji Petrochemical Synthetic Paper, unifying production and sales. * 1996, January 15 - Established production subsidiary Yupo Corporation America in the US (100% shareholder). * 1998, September 30 - New factory completed in the United States. * 2000, June 1 - Established sales company YUPO Europe GmbH in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(100% shareholder). * 2001, January 1 - Company name changed from Oji Petrochemical Synthetic Paper to Yupo Corporation''.'' * 2007 - Signed business consignment contract with Mitsubishi Chemical (China) Management Co., Ltd. * 2011 - Signed business contract with Mitsubishi Chemical India pvt.ltd * 2014 - Signed business consignment contract with Mitsubishi Chemical Thailand Co., ltd

Main locations

The corporate

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

is located at 4 Shin Ochanomizu Building, Kanda-Surugadai,

Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

. The company's production base is the Kashima factory of

located in

Kamisu City Towada, close to Ibaraki Plant. Its subsidiary, Yupo Corporation America, is located in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Related items

List of Japanese companies Location of Japan This is a list of notable companies based in Japan. For further information on the types of business entities in this country and their abbreviations, see " Business entities in Japan". Note that 株式会社 can be (and freque ...

Footnote

References

* Oji Paper (ed.) "Oji Papersha History", Main Edition, Oji Paper, 2001

External links

Yupo Corporation
* {{Authority control Japanese companies established in 1970 Plastic brands Brand name materials Products introduced in 1970 Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Plastics companies of Japan Joint ventures Manufacturing companies established in 1970 Companies based in Tokyo Mitsubishi Synthetic paper industry Synthetic paper