is a multinational Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and

materials A material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their ge ...

. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid-in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki-based producer of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...

, and other chemicals. Now headquartered in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, with offices and plants across Japan, as well as China,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, U.S.A. and Germany. The company is listed on the first section of

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...

and is a constituent of the

TOPIX 100 The , commonly known as the TOPIX, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, along with the Nikkei 225. The TOPIX tracks the entire market of domestic companies and covers most stocks in the Tokyo Stock Exc ...

and

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is a price-weighted index, operating in the Japanese yen, Japanese Yen (JP¥), and its compone ...

stock market indices.

History

The company Asahi Kasei began in 1931 with the production of chemicals, which included ammonia and nitric acids. In 1949, exchanges between stocks started up between Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Asahi Kasei entered into a joint petrochemical venture with Dow Chemical. A production of

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...

and Saran Wrap began in 1952. Diversification into acrylonitrile, construction materials, petrochemicals, glass fabrics,

ethylene Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon–carbon bond, carbon–carbon doub ...

, housing, medical devices, electronics, engineered resins, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and liquors began in the 1960s and 1990s. Net sales exceeded $10 billion globally from 2000 to 2003. Finally, in 2008 and 2009, there was further diversification into medical devices. In 2018, Asahi Kasei acquired Sage Automotive Interiors.

Statistics

The company makes about 18 billion dollars globally in annual net sales. Their core operating segments include: * Chemicals (43.4%) * Homes (27.2%) * Healthcare (7.95%) * Fibers (7%) * Electronics (10%) * Construction materials (3.3%) * Services, engineering, and others (1.2%)

Locations

As of March 2022, Asahi Kasei employs 46,751 people and has a total of 54 manufacturing facilities found in different areas all over the world, including North America, Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and Japan. Their operations in North America are located in Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Mexico. In Europe it has sites in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. The sites in Japan are located in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Nobeoka, and Mizushima. The sites in South and East Asia operate in India, Suzhou, Shanghai, Thailand, and Singapore.

Business segments and products

The main operations of the company are divided into the following four business sectors: * Chemicals & fibers ** Chemicals ** Polymer products ** Specialty chemicals ** Fibers * Homes & construction materials ** Foundation systems ** Insulation materials ** AAC-related products ** Structural materials ** Order-built homes ** Real estate–related operations ** Building remodeling * Electronics ** LSIs **

Hall effect The Hall effect is the production of a voltage, potential difference (the Hall voltage) across an electrical conductor that is wikt:transverse, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to an applied magnetic field wikt:perpendicul ...

elements, magnetometers and Hall ICs ** Clean energy materials ** Optical and printing materials ** Electronic materials * Health care ** Blood transfusion devices ** Blood purification devices ** Bioprocess products: leukocyte reduction filters, virus removal filters ** Orthopedics and urology pharmaceuticals ** Critical care devices: defibrillators, wearable defibrillators, automated CPR systems, temperature management systems, data solutions ** Diagnostic reagents ** Nutritional products

References

External links

Asahi Kasei Corporation Website
* Wiki collection of bibliographic works on Asahi Kasei {{Authority control Chemical companies based in Tokyo Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies in the Nikkei 225 Chemical companies established in 1931 Conglomerate companies of Japan Defense companies of Japan Mizuho Financial Group Conglomerate companies established in 1931 Japanese companies established in 1931 Japanese brands