Create a prosperous future for humans and the Earth based on trust and technology developed for more than 100 years.

In the 6th year of the Meiji era, Japan finally started to move toward modernization.
Yonezo Koizumi, one of the founders of Nankai Chemical Co., Ltd., was born in Arida City, Wakayama Prefecture, as the second son of Zenzaemon Tanaka.
The Tanaka family is well-known for their contribution to the encouragement of local new industries in the Edo era.

Yonezo was adopted by the Koizumi family and entered Wakayama Junior High School.
Sulfuric Acid Bleaching Powder Co., Ltd. was established in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture in 1896. Since his brother, Zenkichi Tanaka, was the manager of the company, he worked under his brother to learn the manufacturing methods of bleaching powder and sulfuric acid and expand his network in Wakayama and Sakai.

Yonezo had traveled to the United States twice before founding the company and directly experienced Western culture and developing industries. He strengthened friendships with young people of the same generation, who were also studying abroad, absorbed knowledge, and recognized that the chemical industry should play a central role in all industries. Such experiences greatly influenced the establishment of the company.

The Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904. The government encouraged new industries and strengthened the military administration, resulting in special demands and an entrepreneurial boom in the industry.
At that time, the production of Kishu flannel was blooming for the increased demand of military uniforms in Wakayama. The processing technology of cotton flannel has shifted from hand weaving to power loom. Particularly, printing technology greatly advanced.
The demand of bleaching powder was markedly increased because it was indispensable to the pre-printing process.

Yonezo, the founder of the Kii Lumber Company, was trying to start a new business.
Yonezo, who had traveled to the United States and therefore was familiar with domestic and overseas circumstances, sensed an opportunity to establish a chemical company. Particularly, he thought that the businesses of bleaching powder, sulfuric acid, and superphosphate, which he had experienced at Sulfuric Acid Bleaching Powder Co., Ltd. in Sakai, were promising.
At that time, hydroelectric power generation was also developing by abundant water. Since abundant high-quality sulfide ore was produced from the Iimori mine in Wakayama prefecture, the raw material for sulfuric acid could be obtained at a low cost. These factors paved the way for starting a new business.
Yonezo immediately contacted entrepreneurs related to Kishu funnel and local wealthy people.
As a result, those interested, such as Shichibei Kitajima, a big business person in the local cotton fabric industry, decided to invest.

Nezumijima, located at the mouth of the Kinokawa River, was selected for a plant of the new company.
The main logistics at that time was shipping. In the Kinokawa River, ships were routinely used for transportation.
Aogishi, relatively close to Nezumijima, was selected for the plant, because it was the largest port in Wakayama, with regular flights between Wakayama and Osaka.

Shichibei Kitajima, one of the investors, was appointed as the president.
On October 26, 1906, Nankai Sulfur Fertilizer Co., Ltd., the predecessor company of Nankai Chemical Co., Ltd., was established.
Yonezo became the manager because he was familiar with bleaching powder and sulfuric acid production technology. Yonezo Koizumi was 34 years old in that autumn.

October 26, 1906
Nankai Sulfur Fertilizer Co., Ltd. was established under the leadership of Yonezo Koizumi who had experienced the businesses of bleaching powder, sulfuric acid, and fertilizer, with financial support from businesspersons in the cotton flannel industry and wealthy asset owners willing to invest in the company in Wakayama.

This company produced and distributed “bleaching powder” for bleaching cotton flannel, “sulfuric acid” as a raw material of bleaching powder, and “artificial fertilizer” made from the sulfuric acid.
The headquarters were located at 1570 Oaza Minato, Minato-mura, Kaiso-gun, Wakayama Prefecture (commonly known as Nezumijima), where the first step was marked for the foundation of Nankai Chemical.
At that time, i.e., immediately after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the special demand and entrepreneurial boom, boosted by the war-time special demand, were coming to an end.
However, at the same time as the foundation, the markets of sulfuric acid and fertilizer rapidly deteriorated because of excessive supplies. So, some sponsors were worried about the future, leading to the delayed payment of shares.
Therefore, Yonezo Koizumi decided on capital reduction and produced and distributed only bleaching powder with a high demand in the local area. Also, the company name was changed to “Nankai Bleaching Powder Co., Ltd.”

Koizumi took a lead in constructing a plant for bleaching powder and struggled to recruit staff and workers. In July 1907, the plant was completed through hardship, launching a full-scale production of bleaching powder by the “Leblanc manganese process.”
At the peak of cotton flannel, so-called Kishu flannel, Wakayama Prefecture had an about 60% share of the national market. Since a large amount of bleaching powder is used for bleaching, Nankai Bleaching Powder launched its business satisfactorily by taking full advantage of production in areas with high demands.
The management team planned to increase the production of bleaching powder, while paying attention to the possible in-house production of sulfuric acid as a raw material and distribution of sulfuric acid as products. By taking advantage of the procurement of iron sulfide ore, a raw material for sulfuric acid production, from the local Iimori mine, the company decided to start sulfuric acid production.
In 1910, the company purchased a piece of land in Aogishi, closer than the Nezumijima Plant, which had become too small, and started construction of a plant for sulfuric acid production. The construction was completed in 1911, starting production. Subsequently, a second plant for sulfuric acid production was built in 1913, with a monthly production of 1,000 tons.

In 1914, World War I broke out in Europe, a critical importer of chemicals. Besides the wartime special demands, the needs and demands for the domestic production of chemicals sharply increased.
Under such circumstances, caustic soda, whose demand had increased as a raw material for various industrial uses, was mostly imported from Europe and the United States, and so was high-quality caustic soda produced by electrolysis. If electrolytic soda was fully produced in Japan, a large amount of bleaching powder would be produced as a by-product, posing a critical issue for Nankai Bleaching Powder.

Thus, Yonezo Koizumi decided to take the initiative in entering the soda business and acquired the patent of Nelson-type electrolysis from Warner Chemical Co., Ltd. in the United States. In 1916, Nankai Soda Co., Ltd. was established as a Nelson-type electrolytic soda company. Ren Shoda was dispatched to the United States to learn the technology. In 1918, a new plant, built in Kozaika, Miyamae-mura, launched its operation. Its annual production was 720 tons of caustic soda and 840 tons of bleaching powder.

Nankai bleaching powder, which has benefited from the wartime special demand, further expanded its business.
In 1916, Dainihon Jochugiku Co., Ltd. was established in Nezumijima. In 1918, Hokkai Soda Co., Ltd. was established in Fushiki, Toyama Prefecture. In 1917, our company participated in the establishment of Yura Dye Co., Ltd., the first manufacturer of medical phenolic acid and various dyes in Japan.
In 1919, a Valentina-type nitric acid plant was newly established in Aogishi. Thus, the company made a leap while accurately reading the changes of the times.

Nankai Bleaching Powder, which had been recognized as a big local company and established its presence in the soda/bleaching powder and sulfuric acid industries, was listed on the Wakayama Stock Market in 1920.
At that time, 27 companies, including Nankai Bleaching Powder, were listed on the Wakayama Stock Market.

Like the Kishu cotton flannel industry in Wakayama, the Japanese paper industry has also prospered and developed in Tosa since the Edo period. From the Meiji to Taisho eras, its production technology has been modernized, with a 20% share of the whole production in Japan.
The material for dissolving raw materials, such as paper bush, was switched from wood ash to caustic soda. Thus, the demands for soda and bleaching powder, including consumption of bleaching powder for bleaching, rapidly increased.
Under these circumstances, Tosa Sulfur Co., Ltd. was established in 1925 at the former site of Tosa Soda Co., Ltd., which had been dissolved in 1923 because of the Great Kanto Earthquake, and a Nelson-type electrolysis facility was constructed. Yonezo Koizumi was appointed as the president. Ren Shoda took lead in the construction of the caustic soda and bleaching powder manufacturing facilities.

In 1927, the company merged with Nihon Jochugiku Co., Ltd. In 1928, the president, Shichibei Kitajima, announced his resignation from the board of directors of Nankai Bleaching Powder, and Yonezo Koizumi took the chair of the second president. Thus, Koizumi took control of the company both in name and reality. In the same year, the company merged with Tosa Sulfur, thereby completing the production system of Wakayama and Tosa, i.e., the prototype of the current Nankai Chemical Co., Ltd.
In 1931, the Manchurian Incident broke out. The imports of foreign goods were blocked and exports increased, promoting domestic industries. During this period, our company also focused on research and development and developed various products, and thus actively expanded the business.
The Kozaika Plant aimed to build additional plants for new products, “chloropicrin” and “carbon tetrachloride,” and establish R & D and distribution systems for subsequent new products. Young engineers, including Sadao Murai, who joined our company in 1927, played a central role. Murai became the manager of the Kozaika Plant only eight years after joining the company, contributing to the development of most products during this period.

In 1933, Nankai Oil Co., Ltd. was newly established as a subsidiary in Kuroe, Kainan City. Around that time, oil refining attracted lots of attention for military demand and many refining plants were constructed nationwide.

In 1937, our company merged with Ogaki Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture to be renamed Nankai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., resulting in a comprehensive chemical manufacturer which manufactures and distributes chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides and insecticides in the Kansai, Shikoku, and Tokai areas.

As the political power of the military became stronger, the government more strongly control the economy. This had brought about major environmental changes for Nankai Chemical, such as the procurement of raw materials and the recruitment of staff. In 1939, our company merged with Nakayama Steel Works, which was constructing a blast furnace for integrated steelmaking.

In such an era of a controlled economy, the government placed top priority on the steel industry. Since by-products, generated in large amounts in the coke oven during the process, are valuable raw materials for the chemical industry, the company expanded the business, including them.

Through the coal carbonization of the by-products, raw materials and intermediates, such as pharmaceuticals, gunpowder, and dyes, for the military were advantageously manufactured and supplied, contributing to the national policy. Also, all burnt ore after the combustion of sulfide ore at the Aogishi Plant could be supplied as a raw material for ironmaking.

The president was Etsuji Nakayama, the founder of Nakayama Steel Works. Yonezo Koizumi was appointed as the managing director. Thus, Nankai Chemical became the Chemistry Department of Nakayama Steel Works.

In 1944, the war situation worsened, and production activities gradually stopped due to shortages of raw materials, maintenance and repair equipment, and labor, as well as repeated air raids. The coke oven was also forced to shut down completely.

During the air raid on Kochi City in July 1945, the Tosa Chemical Plant, the main plant for military goods, was destroyed by incendiaries and bombs. Although the two plants in Wakayama were not directly damaged, production stopped because the electric power required for production could not be transmitted.

In August, the war finally ended. All the plants of Nakayama Steel Works were suspended.

Nakayama Steel Works, dissolved at the end of the war, dismissed its employees and rehired staff and workers for the security management of production equipment. The plants of the Chemistry Department also produced soap and other daily necessities to secure the wages of the employees, while struggling to procure the materials required for the maintenance and restoration of production equipment.
The employees who had protected the home front, those who had been demobilized from battlefields, and the employees and workers who had returned from outside gradually but strongly resumed production.

In 1946, the conglomerate was dismantled. Consequently, Nakayama Steel Works was spun off into four companies: Kizugawa Works Co., Ltd., Amagasaki Steel Works Co., Ltd., and Nankai Chemical Co., Ltd. Yasuyuki Nakayama was appointed as the president of the new Nankai Chemical Co., Ltd.

In April 1946, a labor union was formed in both Nakayama Steel Works Wakayama and Tosa Chemical Plant with the progress of democratization. In 1947, after the spin-off, a branch office was established in the Wakayama, Tosa, Ogaki, and Okazaki Plants of Nankai Chemical and headquarters in Wakayama. A “Notice of Organization of a Labor Union” was submitted to the president Yasuyuki Nakayama.
In 1953, the unions of Wakayama and Tosa joined the Labor Union, establishing a joint federation of both unions.
Eiji Shioji was the executive chairperson.

The Japanese economy has expanded since around 1954, when the postwar reconstruction was almost completed. The economic boom until the middle of 1957 was called the “Jinmu Boom”. Additionally, the long-term “Iwato Boom” had continued since 1958.
As the presence in the international community had grown for the Tokyo Olympics and the Japan World Exposition, Japan had grown to compete for the first and second places in the world in various industries, such as shipbuilding, steel, automobiles, home electrical appliances, synthetic fibers, and chemical fertilizers.

However, environmental pollution occurred as a side effect of high economic growth. Companies pursuing economic expansion and growth reflected on their past conducts with an increasing interest in environmental issues.

At that time, Nankai Chemical actively worked to improve productivity and reduce costs.
Two methods, i.e., the diaphragm and mercury methods, had been employed for soda production. However, caustic soda produced by the diaphragm method is unsuitable for inferior quality for chemical fibers whose demand had been increasing. Thus, in 1962, the Kozaika Plant invented its own method, i.e., the mercury method.

However, since the Tosa Plant continued to use the diaphragm method and improved the Nelson electrolytic cell from U- to W-shaped type because it mainly supplied to the paper industry. Thus, the plant maintained the production by improving the capacity. Then, the company entered the paper industry to ensure the distribution of caustic soda and bleaching powder/liquid to the paper industry.

In 1956, Nankai Paper Co., Ltd. was established. The headquarters were located at the Asahi Plant in Kochi City to carry out production and distribution using a three-plant system with the Takaoka Plant in Tosa City and the Ueno Plant in Ueno City, Mie Prefecture. As originally intended, this greatly contributed to the distribution of caustic soda, bleaching powder, and bleaching liquid at the Tosa and Kozaika Plants.

The oil shock triggered by the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973 had a tremendous impact on Japan's economy. The soda industry, one of the most power-consuming industries, also suffered a major setback, demanding management rationalization and energy saving for survival.

Under such circumstances, in 1974, President Yasuyuki Nakayama retired and Takashi Ban became the new president. In such a difficult business environment, the new management team, led by the president, actively tackled various issues.
To address environmental issues, the Kozaika Plant established a closed system for mercury electrolysis to prevent mercury discharge from the plant. Aogishi and Tosa Plants strengthened environmental measures, such as the installation of wastewater treatment equipment and prevention of air pollution.

The headquarters and each plant worked together for energy saving. In the plants, an energy-saving project team was formed, producing good results by routine efforts, such as turning off unnecessary lights, repairing steam leaks, and reviewing set temperatures, and by the introduction of energy-saving equipment and improvement of manufacturing equipment. As a result, the company received the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Commissioner's Award.
Furthermore, the company increased the capital and sold underutilized real estate, and decided to withdraw from dead-end businesses.

As a result of “conversion to ion exchange membrane electrolysis” (IM conversion), which has been investigated since 1974, an IM electrolytic cell was introduced at Tosa Plant in 1982 to improve quality and save energy. Actually, the electrolytic power consumption was reduced by about 11% and the steam consumption of the concentrator by about 87%.

Also, the manufacturing monitoring was rationalized, leading to a significant reduction in labor costs.

In 1984, conversion to IM was decided at the Kozaika Plant. In the same year, a new “medium- to long-term management plan” was formulated. This 6-year plan started in 1985, covering various areas, including equipment, distribution, production, personnel, product development, computer systems, employee education, and labor-management issues, to implement drastic reforms by denying the situation at that time.

Yasuo Shimada, who was seconded from Nakayama Steel Works to be appointed as the director of the Production Department, played a central role. Employees actively worked on the plans as announced one after another. Under the slogan “Lively New Nankai,” the company was drastically reformed in a short period of time.

In 1986, the organization was drastically reformed. This aimed to establish a management base to address changes in the environment and industrial structure, as well as to renew technologies and fields, rationalize personnel, reduce costs, and strengthen sales capabilities.

Also, the company strengthened the R & D Department for Nankai Chemical to develop as a unique chemical manufacturer. An R & D office was placed in the Kozaika Plant, and the R & D Tosa Branch Office in the Tosa Plant. Furthermore, besides the 1st and 2nd R & D Offices, the Development Project Office was established in the R & D Department to reinforce the R & D capabilities.

For example, a research center with state-of-the-art analytical equipment was established in the Kozaika Plant, thus completing the research and development system.

In 1991, the domestic economy reached a peak, followed by a downhill course. This is the so-called “bubble collapse.”
Then, Japan entered a deflationary era. Nankai Chemical had difficulty with maintaining the conventional management.
Under these circumstances, Yasuo Shimada, appointed as the president, tried to transform the company for survival in the 21st century by changing everything, based on new ideas, from the manufacturing method in the plants to the sales methods.

In 1996, he worked on the “Rainbow Bridge Plan” to further strengthen the management structure.
As described in the plan, “To transform the company for survival in the 21st century, we will place the highest priority on the profitability of all products and thoroughly focus on the basics of production to provide high-quality products from customers’ viewpoints, with all business establishments pursuing profitability.”

In June 2000, Kazuo Ikeda became the president. In 2001, he launched a new five-year plan, “Sunrise Plan.” The plan aimed to “take one step faster with the start of the new century, to transform and evolve the company through “business selection and concentration” into a brilliant and active growing company,” under the slogan of “Strong and Brilliant Active Company.”
We are also promoting strategic “expansion of sales bases,” “spin-off,” and “M & A” for the future.

By promoting more energetic actions than ever, Nankai Chemical Group, as well as each department, could achieve high profitability.

Nankai Chemical has advanced by overcoming and adapting to many changes and difficulties in the business environment depending on the market needs of local industries, such as Kishu cotton flannel and Tosawa paper, using the seeds of soda, bleaching powder, and sulfuric acid manufacturing technologies.

By reevaluating the 100-year foundation established by our predecessors, including Yonezo Koizumi, we will make a further leap forward, adapt to the changing times, and increase the corporate value based on local and customers’ trust, thus aggressively creating the future of Nankai Chemical.