Overview

Among the various plastics, phenolic resin has the oldest history.  It was developed by Dr. Leo H. Baekeland, an American of Belgian ancestry, in 1907 and he named that synthetic resin "Bakelite".  In 1911, Sankyo Company (currently Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.)
was assigned the rights to execute the patents in Japan through the good offices of Dr. Jokichi Takamine, a close friend of
Dr. Baekeland.  Trial production of phenolic resin was started at the Shinagawa Plant of Sankyo Company.  That was the origin of the Japan's plastics industry, and the name of our company came from this achievement.
In 1932, the phenolic resin business of Sankyo Co., Ltd. was separated and formed Nippon Bakelite Co., Ltd.  In 1955, Nippon Bakelite Co., Ltd. merged with Sumitomo Synthetic Resin Industries, Ltd. to found Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.  As a pioneer in plastics, with our expertise in and up-to-date facilities for plastics, we have been always developing new technologies for use in various fields in order to contribute to establishing safe and comfortable living.