is one of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
's top makers of
fibers
Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...
and
textiles
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
, including
synthetic fiber
Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants like cott ...
s (
polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...
,
nylon
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups.
Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
and
acrylics) and natural fibers, such as
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
and
wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
.
History
Toyobo was established in 1882 by Eiichi Shibusawa as a cotton-spinning company in a context of post-
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
. By the 1930s, Toyobo was the world's largest cotton-spinning company. In the 1960s, the company started to manufacture synthetic fibers and films.
In August 2013, Toyobo bought the Spanish company Spinreact for 22.3 million euros.
In 2015, Toyobo provided 40% of the yarn for
airbags worldwide, and 50% of Japan's food packaging films.
In March 2017, Toyobo introduced Cocomi, a t-shirt that tracks a driver's heartbeats and activates an alarm if somnolence is detected. In August 2017, Toyobo established a new group in Europe, Toyobo Chemicals Europe GmbH, with a focus on marketing specialty chemical products, and a new manufacturing base for airbag fabrics.
In March 2018, Toyobo paid $66 million to settle a case of defective bulletproof vests sold to the US Government between 2001 and 2005.
Activities
Toyobo's textiles are designed for clothing, home furnishings, and for industrial uses. Textiles include
spandex
Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether- polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont.
Name
The name ''spandex'', which is an anagram of t ...
yarn for apparel, polyurethane fiber for
pantyhose
Pantyhose, sometimes also called sheer (textile), sheer tights, are close-fitting legwear covering the wearer's body from the waist to the toes. Pantyhose first appeared on store shelves in 1959 for the advertisement of new design panties (All ...
, yarns for
airbags and tire cords and synthetic fibers for apparel. Toyobo is also engaged in the spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, sewing, and the wholesaling and trading of textiles in Japan and internationally.
Toyobo also manufactures plastic films, and
resins
A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Comm ...
. Biochemical products such as
reagents
In chemistry, a reagent ( ) or analytical reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. The terms ''reactant'' and ''reagent'' are often used interchangeably, but reactant specifies a ...
, medical products (e.g. fiber membranes for artificial organs), and purification devices are also manufactured by the company.
The company operates across Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United States, and Germany and is listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan.
The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...
, being a component of the
Nikkei 225
The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is a price-weighted index, operating in the Japanese yen, Japanese Yen (JP¥), and its compone ...
stock index
In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures the performance of a stock market, or of a subset of a stock market. It helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market perform ...
.
Gallery
See also
*
Biodefense
References
External links
Official global website
{{Authority control
Textile companies of Japan
Defense companies of Japan
Chemical companies of Japan
Clothing companies of Japan
Disaster preparedness
Medical technology companies of Japan
Manufacturing companies based in Osaka
Japanese companies established in 1882
Manufacturing companies established in 1882
Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Companies in the Nikkei 225
Japanese brands