From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min
Denka headquarters in the Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower | |
| Company type | Public (K.K) |
|---|---|
| TYO: 4061 Nikkei 225 Component | |
| ISIN | JP3549600009 |
| Industry | Chemicals |
| Founded | Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan (May 1, 1915) |
| Founder | Tsuneichi Fujiyama |
| Headquarters | Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, 1-1, Nihonbashi-Muromachi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8338, Japan |
Key people | Shinsuke Yoshitaka (Chairman and CEO) Manabu Yamamoto (President) |
| Products | |
| Revenue | |
Number of employees | 5,944 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2018) |
| Website | Official website |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
Denka Company Limited (デンカ株式会社, Denka Kabushiki-gaisha); formerly Denki Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (電気化学工業株式会社) is a Japanese chemical company, established in 1915, and headquartered in Tokyo, manufacturing organic and inorganic chemicals, cement, special cement additives, electronic component transfer materials and food packaging materials.[2] The company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index.[3]
In 1912, Tsuneichi Fujiyama founded a carbide business, Hokkai Carbide, in Tomakomai, a village in Hokkaido. One year later, Fujiyama patented his own process of producing cyanamide, the continuous cyanamide process.[4] In 1913, Fujiyama with the help of 22 venture capitalists incorporated a reorganized Hokkai Carbide as Denki Kagaku Kogyo, the current company. Despite its legal status as an independent corporation, Denka was a Mitsui-related company.[5] The company changed its name from Denki Kagaku Kogyo to Denka Company Limited 2015.[6]
The Pontchartrain Works facility owned by Denka in Reserve, Louisiana has been reported to be emitting chloroprene which is defined as "likely to be carcinogenic to humans" by the EPA.[7][8][9] Up to 755 times the safe air value of 0.2 μg/m3 of chloroprene has been recorded at the fifth ward elementary school in close proximity to the plant.[8] The cancer risk in Reserve is 1,500 times the national average and is thought to be due to chloroprene levels.[8] Denka has replied to the reports as being not based on "sound science".[10]