Shin-Etsu chemical is Japan’s largest chemical company. It is in the 9th place in the Forbes Global 2000 list. It holds the world’s largest market share in the sectors of photomask substrate, semiconductor silicon and polyvinyl chloride.
The company was named after the Shin’etsu Region. Shin-Etsu built the first chemical plant of Shin-Etsu Nitrogen Fertilizer Co. Ltd. in 1926 although the company’s headquarters are located in Tokyo.
With manufacturing facilities in 14 countries, Shin-Etsu has three distinct core business, namely functional materials, electronics materials, and organic and inorganic chemicals. Among the most important products of these segments are quartz and earth magnets for general use for functional materials; semiconductor silicon, organic materials, and earth magnet used in electronics for electronics materials; and PVC, silicones, cellulose derivatives and silicon metals for organic and inorganic chemicals.