Our Value

History

We Have Identified Technologies Needed for the Future

Early Days of Building Relationships with Foreign Manufacturers

Pursuing the possibilities of chemicals

The NAGASE Group in its early days rapidly sought partnerships with powerful overseas manufacturers to pursue the possibilities of chemicals. In 1900, we started trading with Basel Chemical Co. of Switzerland (at that time called Ciba), and opened an office in Lyon in 1901. This was an extremely advanced move for a Japanese company at the time. Trade expanded with Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and in 1951, we started to import and sell epoxy resins with electrical insulation properties. This would lead to the development of what is today’s Electronics Business.

We also turned our attention to cinematographic film, taking into account the development of the visual image culture, and started trading with Eastman Kodak Co. of the United States in 1923. Technology used to develop the imported film would form the technological foundation of the semiconductor business.

Identifying the Possibilities of Engineering Plastics

Partnership with General Electric

The NAGASE Group concluded an agency agreement with General Electric Co. (GE) of the United States in 1968. At the time, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene, polystyrene and other general-purpose resins were the mainstream plastics, but NAGASE had the idea that highly functional engineering plastics were indispensable for development of Japanese industry.

At that time, GE was handling engineering plastics in the United States and searching for a partner in Japan. Following an exhaustive investigation, GE designated the NAGASE Group as its most reliable partner in Japan and this led to the conclusion of the agency agreement.

Doing business with GE caused NAGASE to soar in popularity within the industry and later made a significant contribution to expanding bases in Asia.

Now & Future

Identifying New, Next-Generation Businesses Now and in the Future

Taking on the Challenges of Next-Generation ICT Business

Beyond 5G

At a time when attention is focused on the shift to 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), which features ultra-high speed, large capacity, ultra-low latency and multiple simultaneous connections, the NAGASE Group believes its fundamental technologies can fulfill an important role for development of equipment and devices related to 5G, and we are moving ahead on development. We are also taking into account the kind of transition that will be brought by 6G (6th generation mobile communication system expected to be realized by around 2027) through M&A and focusing all our abilities on core technology development.

The next-generation information and communications business aims for the realization of smart cities. This will contribute to “a sustainable world where people live with peace of mind.”

→Feature : Initiatives for Next-Generation Business Case1

Create the Core of Future Business

New Value Creation (NVC) Office

The mission of the NVC Office set up in April 2017 is to create the core of the NAGASE Group’s future business. As its name suggests, the office advances the NAGASE Group’s innovation and aims to create new value that will form the core of future business through cross-sectional collaboration among business divisions.

Of the initiatives the NVC Office has conducted over three years, some can actually connect to specific services. One example of this is Materials Informatics (MI) being jointly developed with IBM Corp. This a service for developing new materials that combines the latest data processing technologies with materials science, and we are preparing for market launch.

→Feature : Initiatives for Next-Generation Business Case2

Manufacturing

Technological Capability to Create New Value from Identified Businesses

Core Technologies × Creative Capabilities

Nagase ChemteX Corporation

President and CEO

Satoru Fujii

Nagase ChemteX Corporation is a core manufacturing subsidiary of the NAGASE Group and possesses creative technologies in a variety of areas including electronics and biotechnology. In business areas such as functional resins including epoxy, photolithography materials for semiconductors, functional chemicals like conductive coatings, and bio-chemicals with enzymes for food applications, world-first technologies and technologies with top shares in the Japanese market support the Group’s innovations. We proactively collaborate with universities, research institutions and partner companies, and strive to introduce new elemental technologies.

We, in close collaboration with members of NAGASE, respond to customers’ needs with speed and at the same time provide awareness. In the biomaterial field we focus on, we developed a technology to remove or reduce endotoxins harmful to the body from various materials. Foreseeing increased demand in such fields as medical devices, we are absorbing a wide array of customer needs and enhancing our product lineup. Binding our strengths in the materials and technologies we possess with ideas created through feedback from customers enables us to develop business with value, grown from technology.

Innovation Created with Customers

The Nagase ChemteX Process innovation Center (NPiC), established in September 2019, oversees the application lab, which can develop processes using various types of equipments, and the Universal Design Office, where ideas can be shared instantly, and is a space that leverages the free innovation of Nagase ChemteX engineers and customers. The center is capable of integrated operations from ideas through to implementation and strives to develop new functional resins.

Functional Resins Business

Precision Process Materials Business

Functional Chemicals Business

Bio Chemicals Business

Nagase ChemteX Corporation

https://www.nagasechemtex.co.jp/en/

Established: 1970
Production and development bases: Japan (3), China (2), Europe (1), Americas (1)
Number of employees: 581

R&D　Research & Development

Pursuing Business Output through Various Perspectives and R&D Competency

Combining Biotechnological Expertise with Frontier Technologies

Nagase R&D Center

General Manager

Xiaoli Liu

The Nagase R&D Center was established in 1990 with the objective of combining the Group’s expertise and promoting integrated corporate activities from development and production through to sales. Since 2013, we have focused on R&D in the biotechnology field and have established a research system for studies into molecular biology, applied microbiology, genetic engineering, protein engineering, bioinformatics, fermentation engineering, metabolic engineering and more. The center does not limit itself to supporting Group companies in product development, but also creates its own projects, having successfully mass produced its proprietary fermentation technology for actinomycetes and plans to soon launch the Nagase ChemteX product Trehangelin, which is expected to have anti-aging effects.

Moreover, a breakthrough has been achieved with the so-called longevity vitamin ergothioneine, which is expected to have applications in foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Using our strength of microbial fermentation and our dedication to the environmental friendliness, we will continue to move forward with the aim of mass production.

Nagase R&D Center

https://www.nagase.co.jp/english/enterprise/nagase-r-and-d-center/

Established: 1990

Providing Customers with a Place for Open Innovation

NAGASE Application Workshop (NAW)

General Manager

Akihiro Taniguchi

The Nagase Application Workshop is an open innovation laboratory operated on the basis of free thought possible only in a lab operated by a trading company. As a development partner to customers, NAW provides evaluation and analysis of unique new technologies and materials, adds functions for formulation development, proposes new concept color designs, and advances the development of new applications and more. Collaborations occur with materials and process manufacturers and universities for markets including automotive, office equipment, home appliance, electronics, building and construction, and packaging, etc.

Looking ahead, NAW will focus on themes in the environmental field such as ESG initiatives, and move forward on developing new technologies and materials aimed at building a business model for the NAGASE Group. Furthermore, NAW is also taking action with a view to global Group collaboration regarding the lab’s functions.

NAGASE Application Workshop (NAW)

https://www.nagase.co.jp/english/enterprise/naw/

Established: 2007

Global Network

Delivering Value Where It’s Needed Utilizing a Global Network

→NAGASE Group