Sumika Polymer Compounds

Sumika Polymer Compounds (Europe) was founded in November 2007 after a consortium acquired the Asahi Thermofil compounding companies in the UK and France. The consortium shareholding consists of Sumitomo Chemical Group (50%), Itochu Corporation (25%) and Toyo Ink (25%). The Sumitomo Chemical Group was founded in 1913 and is the second largest petrochemical company in Japan with assets in 2007 of some $18 billion and 24,000 employees. The group includes some 100 companies operating around the world in six business sectors: basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, IT-related chemicals, agricultural chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Itochu has evolved and grown over 150 years into an international trading company, with diverse trading interests, from textiles to plastics. The company has over 43,000 employees and in 2006 the total trading transactions amounted to $91.3 billion. Since the establishment of Toyo Ink, the company has grown steadily to become a truly global business providing colour and colorants technology, polymer technology and optoelectronic materials technology to four key business segments; Printing Inks, Graphic Arts Machinery & Supplies, Polymer Chemicals and Chemicals & Media Materials. The company has a total worldwide workforce of 6500 and total assets of $264 million. This consortium has brought a new dynamism to the already successful and established businesses, providing the necessary backing to ensure growth and representation within Europe.