OSAKA, Japan--()--Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd. (President: Yasuo Ryoki) will commence operations in earnest of its subsidiary 'Osaka Gas Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (OGCS)' on July 2, 2012, in order to establish a business center enabling full-scale advancement into the Chinese Market.
OGCS, the first full-fledged overseas hub for the Osaka Gas Chemicals group, estimates its first year sales to be approximately 200 million yen. It is aiming for growth of about ten times that amount by fiscal 2016, 2 billion yen.
Osaka Gas Chemicals group continues to strengthen their foreign business activities year after year. The company plans to bolster their business stance in China by establishing a local business hub, leveraging the company's strengths in growing markets due to the rising importance of China for the company's products, such as rigid insulation for silicon melting furnaces used in solar battery production.
By incorporating the rigid insulation into Chinese solar cell fabrication plants, the efficiency of facilities, required to fabricate solar cells is expected to increase.
OGCS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd. It is responsible for the import, export, business operations and sales in China of Osaka Gas Chemicals group's products. The plan is to begin focusing their business activities on the current primary business of rigid insulation for silicon melting furnaces used in solar battery production1, and later expand its business into other products.
After receiving a business license, dated March 27, 2012, from the city of Shanghai, China, preparations for the facility and business continue to progress. Operations will commence in earnest on July 2, 2012. The business operations will be led by a four-member team, including the company president (general manager). This will be increased to 10 people in the near future to facilitate expanding business in the country.
CEO of Osaka Gas Chemicals Group, Yasuo Ryoki stated "We want to continue expanding business in China, where significant growth is expected, with Osaka Gas Chemicals (Shanghai) as its core."
ABOUT OSAKA GAS CHEMICALS GROUP
(1) Description of business
Osaka Gas Chemicals Group is in the material solutions business, which is one of the core subsidiaries of Osaka Gas. 2011 sales were 37.7 billion yen2.
Our principal business is the manufacture and sale of coal tar pitch carbon fiber, fluorine resin, activated carbon and its applied products, preservatives (wood preservative coatings, termite control agent and industrial preservatives). Our products hold a major global market share for camera lens resin for cell phones, and domestically command the greatest market share of activated carbon and wood preservative coatings3.
| (2) | Summary of the Osaka Gas Chemicals Group | |||
| 1. | Summary | |||
| Comprised of 11 companies including manufacturing and sales companies centered around Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd. and Japan EnviroChemicals, Ltd., whose primary business is activated carbon and preservatives. | ||||
| 2. | Workforce: Approximately 690 | |||
| 3. | Sales (Group total gross): 37.7 billion yen (Fiscal Year 2011) | |||
| (3) | Summary of Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd. | |||||
| 1. | Head office address: 2-37, Chiyozaki 3-chome-minami, Nishi-ku, Osaka | |||||
| 2. | Establishment: June 29, 1949 | |||||
| 3. | CEO: YASUO RYOKI | |||||
| 4. | Capital stock: 2.5 billion yen (shareholder: Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. 100%) | |||||
| 5. | Sales: 14.2 billion yen (Fiscal Year 2011) | |||||
| 6. | Workforce: Approximately 260 | |||||
| 7. | Business activities: | |||||
| 1) | Manufacture and sale of carbon fiber and its applied products (carbon fiber felts, rigid insulation, lightweight acoustic insulation and the like) | |||||
| 2) | Manufacture and sale of activated carbon fiber and adsorbents (air-conditioning filters, water purifier cartridges and the like) | |||||
| 3) | Manufacture and sale of fine materials (for liquid crystals, optics, and electronics) | |||||
About Osaka Gas Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd
| 1. | Company name: Osaka Gas Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. | |
| 2. | Location: Unit 16, 19F, Tower B, City Center, 100 Zunyi Road, Changning District, Shanghai, The People's Republic of China | |
| 3. | Description of business: Wholesaling, import & export and commission agent (excluding auctions) for carbon fiber products, chemical products and chemical raw materials (excluding oil and hazardous chemicals), graphite and its derivative products, asphalt and its derivative products, water purifiers and air purifiers. | |
| Provides design, development, technical consulting and related incidental services, as well as providing commerce related consulting services for the above mentioned products. | ||
| 4. | Capital stock: 5 million yuan (Approximately 63 million yen) | |
| (Reference exchange rate, 1 yuan=12.63 yen, May 10, 2012) | ||
| 5. | Stakeholder: Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd. 100% | |
| 6. | List of directors: | |
| Chairman: Yasuo Ryoki | ||
| Board Member: Takayuki Azuma, Yasuhiro Takada | ||
| General Manager: Takeshi Koshiba | ||
| Deputy General Manager: Lin Tao, Daisaku Yoshida | ||
| Director: Shinichi Kannou | ||
| 7. | Workforce: 4 | |
| 8. | Established: March 27, 2012 |
ABOUT OSAKA GAS
Osaka Gas (TOKYO:9532) is a leading energy supplier with its core natural gas supply business serving 7 million customers in the Kansai Region. With its portfolio of diversified energy businesses, Osaka Gas is developing into a multi-energy services provider of natural gas, electricity, LPG, district heating/cooling, and other services. With its affiliated enterprises, the Osaka Gas Group is also active in various non-energy business fields. Click the PDF file below for a general presentation about Osaka Gas and its affiliates.
1: Rigid insulation for silicon melting furnaces used in solar battery production is the insulation used for melting furnaces for silicon ingot manufacturing, which is the base for solar cell silicon wafers.
2: Sales are shown in Osaka Gas Chemicals group total gross
3: 'Share' refers to the result of internal studies. Note that camera lens resin for cell phones refers to the share of high-resolution achromatic lenses use.