1926–1999 Shin-Etsu Nitrogen Fertilizer Co., Ltd. was founded in 1926 and in 1927 the Naoetsu plant was constructed for the production of
carbide and lime
nitrogen fertilizer. In 1938 the first facility of the Gunma Complex was established. The company changed its name to Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. in 1940. In 1945, the company expanded with the acquisition of the
Takefu plant. In 1949, the company shares were listed on the
Tokyo stock exchange. Shin-Etsu established Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. in 1955, which was followed by the establishment of Shin-Etsu Polymer Co., Ltd. in 1960 and two years later the Shin-Etsu Astech Co., Ltd. and its first
Malaysia-based company, S.E.H. Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Production at the Shintech Freeport plant began in 1976, and that same year the PVC & Polymer Materials Research Center and the Silicone Electronics Materials Research Center were established. In 1985, Shin-Etsu established two more companies in the U.S.: K-Bin, Inc. (U.S.A.) and Shin-Etsu Silicones of America, Inc. Expansion in
Korea and Taiwan followed with Shin-Etsu Silicone Korea Co., Ltd. in 1986 and Shin-Etsu Silicone Taiwan Co., Ltd. in 1987. In 1988, the company set up an Advanced Functional Materials Research Center and established Shin-Etsu (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. In 1996 Shin-Etsu acquired the Australian company Simcoa Operations Pty. Ltd.
2000–present Construction of the first phase of the Shintech Addis plant was completed in 2000, and the second in 2002. The company set up Asia Silicones Monomer Ltd. and Shin-Etsu Silicones Ltd. in Thailand during 2001 and in 2002, Shin-Etsu Chemical established Zhejiang Shin-Etsu High-Tech Chemical Co., Ltd in the Zhejiang Province of China for the production of silicon products. Also that year, JAPAN VAM&POVAL Co., Ltd. was established. == References ==