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Company History

Company History

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. began with the coming together of Nagano Prefecture’s (Shinano-area) water and Niigata Prefecture’s (Echigo-area) limestone.

Nagano Prefecture’s plentiful water give birth to electric power and the limestone that came from Niigata Prefecture was a key raw material, which was called, “Oyashirazu’s great earth.”
Because of the presence of these two gifts of nature, Shin-Etsu Nitrogen Fertilizer Co., Ltd. was founded on September, 1926 to manufacture chemical fertilizer and limestone nitrogen. The history of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. began from this point.The company’s “Shin” comes from Shinano and “Etsu” is taken from Echigo.

This is a new corporate symbol that visually represents the future image of the Shin-Etsu Group which are pursuing.

The corporate symbol is an integration of images representing “high technology”,”high quality”,”dynamism”,”challenging spirit”, and “flexibility”.

The “light” in the center represents the “activating source” that links the “potential of the earth” with “people’s ambitions”. It also represents the advanced technology that will lead to future expansion and new values. The Shin-Etsu Group, whose aim is to become a world leader, has named this symbol the “Memorable Glow”, in the hope of shining eternally.

Organization History

  • Chronology of operations in Japan
  • Chronology of global network
  • Milestones of products and research and development

  • 1926

    • Shin-Etsu Nitrogen Fertilizer Co., Ltd. (Founding company)

  • 1927

    • Naoetsu Plant Constructed
    • Naoetsu Plant Begins Production of Carbide and Lime Nitrogen Fertilizer

  • 1938

  • 1940

    • Name Changed to Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.

  • 1945

  • 1949

    • Shares Listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange

  • 1953

    • Silicone Production Facilities Established
    • Receipt of the Deming Application Prize for Quality Control

  • 1955

    • Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Established

  • 1956

    • PVC Production Begins

  • 1957

    • Caustic Soda and Chlorine Production Begins

  • 1959

    • Chloromethane Production Begins

  • 1960

    • Shin-Etsu Polymer Co., Ltd. Established
    • C.I.R.E.S. (Portugal) Established
    • High-Purity Silicon Production Begins
    • Silicone RTV Rubbers Developed

  • 1962

    • Shin-Etsu Astech Co., Ltd. Established
    • Manufacture of Cellulose Derivatives Begins

  • 1963

    • Plaster-Use Hi-Metolose Developed

  • 1964

    • Nagano Electronics Industrial Co., Ltd. Established

  • 1965

    • Gastrosoluable Coating Agent Pharmacoat Developed

  • 1966

    • Silane Coupling Agents Developed

  • 1967

    • Shin-Etsu Metallurgical Co., Ltd., Established
    • High-Purity Yttrium and Other Rare Earth Production Begins

  • 1968

    • Kashima Vinyl Chloride Monomer Co., Ltd. and Kashima Chlorine & Alkali Co., Ltd. Established
    • Shin-Etsu Vinyl Acetate Co., Ltd. Established

  • 1969

    • Naoetsu Electronics Co., Ltd. Established

  • 1970

  • 1971

    • Relocated the Headquarters to Asahi Seimei Otemachi Building (Formerly Asahi-Tokai Building), Ohtemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

  • 1972

    • Shin-Etsu Quartz Products Co., Ltd. Established
    • Rare-earth Magnets Developed
    • HPMCP Production Begins

  • 1973

    • Shintech, Inc. (U.S.A.) Established
    • S.E.H. Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Established
    • Epoxy Molding Compounds Developed

  • 1974

    • Shintech’s Freeport Plant Starts Operations

  • 1976

  • 1977

  • 1979

    • Shin-Etsu Handotai America, Inc. (S.E.H. America) Established
    • Synthetic Quartz Glass for IC Photomask Production Begins

  • 1980

    • Synthetic Pheromones Developed

  • 1981

    • Silicon Nitride Powder Developed

  • 1982

    • Dichlorosilane Production Begins

  • 1984

    • Shin-Etsu Handotai Shirakawa Plant Constructed
    • Shin-Etsu Handotai Europe, Ltd. (S.E.H. Europe) Established
    • Lithium Tantalate (LT) Developed

  • 1985

    • K-Bin, Inc. (U.S.A.) Established
    • Shin-Etsu Silicones of America, Inc. Established
    • Ultra-High-Purity PBN Developed

  • 1986

    • Shin-Etsu Silicone Korea Co., Ltd. Established

  • 1987

    • Shin-Etsu Silicone Taiwan Co., Ltd Established

  • 1988

  • 1989

    • MicroSi, Inc. (U.S.A.) Established
    • Shin-Etsu Silicones Europe B.V. (The Netherlands) Established

  • 1990

    • Shin-Etsu International Europe B.V. (The Netherlands) Established
    • Shin-Etsu Singapore Pte. Ltd. Established

  • 1992

  • 1993

    • Shin-Etsu Magnetics, Inc. (U.S.A.) Established
    • S.E.H. (Shah Alam) Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) Established
    • Full-Scale Production of Preform for Optical Fiber Begins

  • 1994

    • Pelicles for Photomasks Developed

  • 1995

    • Shin-Etsu Opto Electronic Co., Ltd. (Taiwan) Established
    • Shin-Etsu Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Established
    • Shin-Etsu Singapore Pte. Ltd. Established
    • Shin-Etsu Handotai Taiwan Co., Ltd. Established

  • 1996

    • Acquisition of Simcoa Operations Pty. Ltd. (Australia)

  • 1998

    • Commercialization of Photoresists

  • 1999

    • A Dutch PVC Business Purchased and Shin-Etsu PVC B.V. Established
    • Liquid Fluoroelastomer Developed

  • 2000

    • Phase 1 Construction Work on Shintech Addis Plant Completed
    • Optical Communication Component Business Launched

  • 2001

    • New Functional Materials Research Center Established
    • Preform for Optical Fiber Plant Constructed in Kashima Plant
    • Phase 2 Construction Work on Shintech Addis Plant Completed
    • Asia Silicones Monomer Ltd. Established (Thailand)
    • Shin-Etsu Silicones (Thailand) Ltd. Established
    • 300mm Silicon Wafer Production Initiated

  • 2002

  • 2003

    • Shin-Etsu Silicone International Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Established
    • A Germany Cellulose Buisiness Purchased and SE Tylose GmbH & Co.,KG Established

  • 2005

    • JAPAN VAM & POVAL Co. Ltd. Became a Wholly Owned Shin-Etsu Group Company
    • The CSR Promotion Committee (Currently the Sustainability Committee) Established
    • New High-Performance Technology for Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets Developed

  • 2006

    • TOB (Take-Over Bid) of Mimasu Semiconductor Industry Co.,Ltd Completed
    • The Responsible Care® Global Charter of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) Signed

  • 2007

    • Leading-Edge Photomask Blanks Developed with Toppan Printing

  • 2008

    • Phase 1 Construction work on Shintech Plaquemine Plant No.1Completed

  • 2009

    • Silicone Reflector Material for High Brightness LEDs and Wavelength Conversion Silicone Film Developed

  • 2010

    • Participated in the UN Global Compact and the Global Compact Network Japan (GCNJ)
    • Phase 2 Construction work on Shintech Plaquemine Plant No.1Completed

  • 2011

    • Shintech Plaquemine Plant No.2 Completed
    • Shin-Etsu Magnetic Materials Vietnam Co., Ltd. and Shin-Etsu Electronics Materials Vietnam Co., Ltd. Established.

  • 2012

    • Shin-Etsu (Changting) Technology Co., Ltd. Established.
    • Decided to Construct a New Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (HEC) Plant in the U.S.

  • 2013

    • New Sodium Hypochlorite Production Facilities Installed at Naoetsu Plant
    • Asia Silicones Monomer Ltd. to Become a Wholly Owned Shin-Etsu Group Company
    • A High Refractive Index Silicone Encapsulating Material and Silicone-based Mounting Board for High-brightness LEDs Developed

  • 2014

    • Shintech Received the President’s “E” Award for Exports
    • Put into Practical Use Radiation Protection Vests that Use RADIBARRIER Silicone Rubber Sheets with Radiation Shielding Properties

  • 2015

    • Shin-Etsu YOFC(Hubei) Optical Preform Co.,Ltd. Established

  • 2016

    • Newly Completed Lab Facilities at the Silicone-Electronics Materials Research Center

  • 2017

    • Doubling of Production Capacity of Rare Earth Magnets in Vietnam Announced

  • 2018

    • The Tokyo Principles for Strengthening Anti-Corruption Practices Established by the Global Compact Network Japan Signed
    • New Integrated Production Plant in Plaquemine at Shintech Announced
    • Increasing Production Capacity of Silicone from Monomer to End Products Announced

  • 2019

    • Support for the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Expressed
    • The Shin-Etsu Group Human Rights Policy Formulated

  • 2020

    • Shintech’s Ethylene Plant Starts Operations
    • Marketing Newly Developed Materials for MicroLED Displays Starts
    • Mass Production of the SLK Series of Low Dielectric Constant Thermosetting Resins for 5G Products Starts

  • 2021

    • Silicone Thermal Interface Materials for Applications in Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles Developed
    • Expansion of Photoresist Production at Shin-Etsu Electronics Materials Taiwan Co., Ltd. Completed
    • The Retirement Age from 60 to 65 Raised
    • Corporate Officer System Deployed
    • A Capital Investment that Contributes to Carbon Neutrality in the Silicone Division at the Gunma Complex Announced
    • An Innovative Integrated Chip Process for Manufacturing Micro LED Displays Proposed
    • Relocated the Headquarters to Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
    • Innovative New Materials for Wearable Devices Developed
    • New Integrated Production Plant in Plaquemine at Shintech Completed

  • 2022

    • Expansion of Production Capacity Mainly for Silicones Advanced Functional Products Line Announced
    • Expansion of Production Capacity for Photoresist at Naoetsu Plant Completed
    • Net Sales of 2 Trillion Yen Achieved for the First Time
    • A New One-component Liquid Silicone Rubber Product that is Superior in Vulcanization Characteristics and Safety Developed
    • Moved to the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
    • Mass Production System for GaN (Gallium Nitride) Epitaxial Growth Substrates and Its Related Products Expanded

  • 2023

    • Ordinary Income of 1 Trillion Yen Achieved for the First Time
    • A Silicone Rubber for Molding that is Optimal as an Insulation Covering Material for Onboard High-Voltage Cable in Automobiles Developed

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