Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. history, profile and corporate video
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. is a chemical company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It offers products in the fields of essential chemicals & plastics, energy and functional materials, IT-related chemicals and materials, health and crop science products, and pharmaceuticals.
HISTORY
Sumitomo Chemical’s origins date back to 1913 when the House of Sumitomo established an independently managed fertilizer plant at Niihama, Ehime prefecture, to resolve the air pollution problem caused by Sumitomo’s copper smelting operation at the Besshi Copper Mine. The air was cleaned by removing the sulfur from the copper ore and the company used sulfur to manufacture fertilizer.
In 1925, Sumitomo Fertilizer Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was incorporated with operations at the Ehime Works.
In 1934, Sumitomo Fertilizer Manufacturing changed its name to Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
In 1946, Sumitomo Chemical changed its name to Nisshin Chemical Co., Ltd.
In 1949, the company took over the aluminum business of Sumitomo Aluminium Smelting Co., Ltd.
In 1952, Nisshin Chemical Co., Ltd. changed its name back to Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
In 1958, the company started production of ethylene and its derivatives, diversifying into the petrochemical business at its Ehime Works.
In 1965, Sumitomo Chiba Chemical Co., Ltd. was established.
In 1983, Sumitomo Chemical suspended the ethylene and derivatives production at its Ehime Works and concentrated production at its Chiba Works.
In 1984, Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. was established by consolidating the pharmaceutical operations of Sumitomo Chemical and Inabata & Co., Ltd.
In May 2001, the household insecticide business of Aventis Crop Science was acquired.
In October 2001, Sumitomo Chemical established the IT-related Chemicals Sector.
In 2002, Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Sumitomo Chemical and Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd., succeeded Takeda Chemical’s agrochemical business and commenced operation.
In 2003, Sumitomo Chemical opened a plant for the integrated production of LCD polarizing film at its Korean subsidiary Dongwoo Fine-Chem Co., Ltd.
In 2004, the company opened a plant for the integrated production of polarizing film for LCD displays at its subsidiary Sumika Technology Co., Ltd. in Taiwan.
In September 2005, Sumitomo Chemical established an equally owned joint venture Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) together with Saudi Aramco.
In October 2005, Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals and Dainippon Pharmaceutical merged to form Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma (now Sumitomo Pharma).
In 2007, Sumitomo Chemical acquired the UK company Cambridge Display Technology, a pioneer in the development of polymer organic LEDs and related devices.
In 2009, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma (now Sumitomo Pharma) acquired the US pharmaceuticals company Sepracor Inc. (now Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
In 2011, the company reorganized the Fine Chemicals Sector, splitting it into the Basic Chemicals Sector and the Health & Crop Sciences Sector (former Agricultural Chemicals Sector).
In 2015, the company reorganized the Basic Chemicals Sector, splitting it into the Petrochemicals & Plastics Sector and the Energy & Functional Materials Sector (a new business sector).
In 2019, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma (now Sumitomo Pharma) entered into a strategic alliance with Roivant Sciences Ltd (UK).
In 2020, the company acquired four South American subsidiaries of an Australian agricultural chemical company, Nufarm Ltd.
In 2022, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma changed its name to Sumitomo Pharma.
OPERATIONS
Sumitomo Chemical operates through the following business segments: Essential Chemicals & Plastics, Energy & Functional Materials, IT-related Chemicals, Health & Crop Sciences, and Pharmaceuticals
Essential Chemicals & Plastics
The Essential Chemicals & Plastics segment manufactures synthetic resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and methacrylic resin, as well as raw materials for synthetic fibers and various industrial chemicals.
Energy & Functional Materials
The Energy & Functional Materials segment provides inorganic materials such as alumina used in energy-saving products, high-performance polymer additives, super engineering plastics and lithium-ion secondary battery materials used in electronic components and vehicles.
IT-related Chemicals
The IT-related Chemicals segment provides optically functional films, touch screen sensor panels, color resists and polymer OLED materials that are used to make LC and OLED displays; photoresists and high-purity chemicals required in the semiconductor manufacturing process; compound semiconductor materials used in antenna switches and other components of communication terminal equipment.
Health & Crop Sciences
The Health & Crop Sciences segment manufactures crop protection chemicals, fertilizers, feed additives, household insecticides, products for the control of infectious diseases, and active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.
Pharmaceuticals
The Pharmaceuticals segment is developed through Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., specialized in the prescription pharmaceuticals business, and Nihon MediPhysics Co., Ltd., specialized in the radiopharmaceuticals business.
With over 34,000 employees and more than 100 subsidiaries and affiliates, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. is considered one of Japan’s leading chemical companies. According to Forbes, it is considered one of the Largest Public Companies in the World.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english.
**Video published on YouTube by “Sumitomo Chemical Asia – Environmental Health“.