- CEO
- Katsutoshi Natake
- Full Time Employees
- 3,941
- Sector
- Process industries
- Industry
- Chemicals: specialty
- Address
- 3-3-2 Nihonbashi Hamacho Tokyo TY Japan 103-8552
- IPO Date
- May 16, 1949
- Business
- Kureha Corporation (4023.T), founded in 1944 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, manufactures and sells functional materials, specialty chemicals, and plastics primarily in Japan, Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe. The company operates through five segments offering advanced materials including polyphenylene sulfide, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) for lithium-ion battery binders, processed polyglycolic acid (PGA) products, carbon fiber, and bead-shaped activated carbon; specialty chemicals such as therapeutic agents for chronic renal failure including Kremezin, agricultural and horticultural fungicides like metconazole and ipconazole, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite, monochlorobenzene, para-dichlorobenzene, and ortho-dichlorobenzene; specialty plastics encompassing household plastic wraps like New Kurewrap, garbage bags, plastic food containers, cooking paper, PVDF fishing lines, polyvinylidene chloride films, and multilayer heat-shrinkable films with auto-pack machinery; construction-related services; and other operations including environmental and logistics businesses. Kureha maintains subsidiaries such as Kureha America Inc. in the US, Kureha Europe B.V. in the Netherlands, and Kureha (Changshu) Fluoropolymers Co., Ltd. in China. Recent developments include the launch of the Kureha Group Medium- to Long-Term Management Plan, Rolling Plan 2025 in 2024 targeting revenue of JPY 185 billion or more and operating profit of JPY 20 billion or more by fiscal 2025 with new KPIs like ROE of 8% or higher and PBR of 1.0 times or above; a JPY 70 billion investment for PVDF capacity expansion at the Iwaki Factory in Fukushima to commence operations in fiscal 2026 or later; discontinuation of PVDF facility expansion in China; decision to withdraw from the heat-shrinkable multilayer film business for commercial packaging in Europe; organizational and personnel changes effective October 1, 2025; completion of a major equity buyback program in June 2025 acquiring 10 million shares for JPY 34.1 billion; and establishment of a new R&D center in Tokyo in 2024 alongside plans for enhanced M&A in agrochemicals, downstream materials, and digital communications.