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1990s

Photo Factory equipment in the 1990s

1990s

Kuraray commercialized thermoplastic elastomer SEPTON™, new PVA fiber KURALON K-II™ and heat-resistant polyamide resin GENESTAR™. Kuraray also established EVAL™ and PVA resin manufacturing facilities in Belgium and Singapore, respectively.

1990

  • Commercialized high-strength polyarylate fiber VECTRAN™ (Saijo).
  • Commercialized thermoplastic elastomer SEPTON™ (Kashima).
Signing ceremony for the establishment of Poval Asia

1991

  • Commercialized opto-screens (fresnel lens) (Nakajo).
  • Established Kuraray Europe GmbH in Düsseldorf, Germany.
  • Established Kyoudo Monomer Corp., a methyl methacrylate (MMA) manufacturing and sales company, jointly with Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Inc.
  • Philanthropy and Ecology Committee established to strengthen our societal contribution and environmental preservation programs.

1992

  • Matching gift system “Kuraray Fureai Fund” commenced.
  • “Chemistry Classes for Boys and Girls” event held for the first time.
  • Commercialized polyurethane fiber (Saijo: halted in 1999).

1993

  • Established the Kuraray Action Guidelines on the Global Environment.
  • President Hiroto Matsuo took office.
EVAL Europe N.V.

1994

  • Established Kuraray Techno Co., Ltd.
  • Established Tsukuba Research Laboratory (now the Tsukuba Research Center, Optical Device R&D Center).

1995

  • Established Kuraray Hong Kong Co., Ltd.

1996

  • Established Kuraray America, Inc. as a holding company and to coordinate U.S. subsidiaries (company name changed to Kuraray Holdings U.S.A., Inc. in 2000).
  • Established PVA manufacturing firm Poval Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore jointly with The Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

1997

  • Established PVA sales company Kuraray Specialities Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.
  • Established Kuraray Finance & Accounting Co., Ltd. and Kuraray Information Systems Center Co., Ltd. (merged to become Kuraray Business Service Co., Ltd. in 2001).

1998

  • Commercialized new PVA fiber KURALON K-II™ (Okayama).

1999

  • Poval Asia began manufacturing PVA.
  • EVAL Europe began manufacturing EVAL™.
  • Commercialized heat-resistant polyamide resin GENESTAR™ (Kashima and Saijo).
GENESTAR™ products
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