Products by Segment: Industrial Materials Segment

Honshu Chemical's Industrial Materials Segment includes the Specialty Bisphenols Business for specialty polycarbonate resins with automotive component applications, as well as the Contract Manufacturing Business. The specialty bisphenols in this segment is manufactured by Hi-Bis, a joint venture in Germany.

Hi-Bis is a joint venture with Covestro (with 10% stake), a leading German resin manufacturer, and Mitsui & Co. (35% stake) . It was established in Bitterfeld-Wolfen near Leipzig in 2001 for the purpose of the production and sale of specialty bisphenols, a material for high heat resistance specialty polycarbonate resins. It is a consolidated subsidiary of Honshu Chemical, which owns 55% stake.

Hi-Bis began commercial production in 2004 at 5,000-ton capacity. The company has since successfully increased production in response to demand growth, doubling its production in 2014.

The joint venture has some fifty German employees, and utilizes technologies and knowhow that Honshu Chemical has accumulated in Wakayama for a long time.

Honshu Chemical's technologies and knowhow are useful for contract manufacturing for other chemical manufacturers. Please forward your outsourcing inquiries to the Industrial Materials Department at our head office.