It was founded in May 1931, using the paid-in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki-based producer of ammonia, nitric acid, and other chemicals. Now headquartered in Tokyo, with offices and plants across Japan, as well as China, Singapore, Thailand, U.S.A. and Germany.
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 and Saran Wrap began in 1952. Diversification into acrylonitrile, construction materials, petrochemicals, glass fabrics, ethylene, 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.[5]
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[6] 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.[7]
Business segments and products
The main operations of the company are divided into the following four business sectors:[8]
