In South Korea, we established the joint venture “CHUGOKU SAMHWA PAINTS, Ltd.” with Samhwa Paints Industrial Co., Ltd. in 1988, and outsourced coating production to them. However, our own factory was completed in 2002 to respond to the rapidly increasing demand for marine coatings in the country. The new factory is characterized by its thoroughgoing environmental measures, such as the adoption of state-of-the-art fully enclosed manufacturing equipment to prevent solvent scattering.

In fiscal 2004, we received an exclusive order for architectural coatings for Suvarnabhumi Airport (opened in September 2006) in Bangkok, Thailand.

Also during this period, we received orders for coatings for large-scale projects that rank among the world’s largest, including the adoption of the track filler material “CUS” for the Taiwan High Speed Rail, the Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge (China), and the Nanjing Yangtze River Third Bridge (both completed in 2005).

The New Shanghai Factory was built in response to the rapidly increasing demand for container coatings, and was completed in 2006. Boasting the largest production capacity in our group at 100,000 tons per year, the new factory has strengthened its environmental measures by installing equipment such as the latest deodorizing and dust collection systems. (With the start of operations at the new factory, the former Shanghai Factory ceased operations in 2007.)

In 2010, we launched the “SEAFLO NEO” fuel-saving antifoulings. In developing the fuel-saving antifoulings, we systematized the relationship between the roughness of the coating film surface and wavelength, which is the biggest factor in creating underwater frictional resistance, as the FIR (Friction Increase Ratio) theory, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the reduction of underwater friction. Subsequently, we added further evolved products to our lineup, such as “SEAFLO NEO Z” and “SEAFLO NEO SL Z.”

Our BIOCLEAN was adopted for the “MOSE project,” the construction of 78 steel flap-gate movable barriers to prevent storm surge damage in Venice. We are also building a track record in overseas industrial projects, with adoptions for the Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge in China (completed in 2009), the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre (completed in 2011), and the Nhat Tan Bridge (Vietnam-Japan Friendship Bridge / completed in 2015) in Vietnam, which is the largest cable-stayed bridge in Southeast Asia.