History
Tradition and for the next generations
In 1909, three craftsmen, OHNO Kozaemon, NAKAMURA Kakichiro and ONO Mohei, began producing a cocoon cleaning/unwinding agent in a barn of the incense shop Ohno Kungyokudo. This product – later named SILKREELER – dramatically improved silk yarn spinning productivity, and contributed to establishment of mass production technology in the silk industry. They carried out further research and development and continued to supply products e.g. scouring agents and oil agents for the textile industry, which was the key industry of the time. In 1914, the company became Ohno Kogyo Seiyakusho by general partnership, and in 1918 Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku (DKS) was established. In 1923, DKS opened a representative office in Shanghai, which was the first internationalization step for the company. R&D department was born in 1926, and ever since, the company continuously grew by increasing production plants and establishing subsidiaries in and out of Japan. DKS celebrated the 100th anniversary in 2009, and most recently, a new plant was constructed in Kasumi, Yokkaichi, in 2015.
History of DKS
| 1909 | Business started at Ohno Kungyokudo Anonymous association Ohno Kungyokudo Cocoon Unwinding Agent Department established Launched Cocoon Unwinding Agent |
|---|---|
| 1910 | Launched MIYAKO scouring agent |
| 1914 | General partnership company Ohno Kogyo Seiyakusho established Production of textile processing oil agent and soap started |
| 1915 | Launched of Gembu Marseille Soap |
| 1916 | Headquarters and Kyoto Plant relocated to Shichijo-Senbon Higashi, Shimogyo-ku Launched MONOPOL SOAP, MONOPOL OIL, AGOL |
| 1918 | Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd. established (Capital: JPY 500,000) |
| 1923 | Cocoon Unwinding Agent renamed to SILKREELER Shanghai representative office opened First in-house newsletter published |
| 1926 | Headquarters & Kyoto Plant relocated to Shichijo-Senbon Minami, Shimogyo-ku |
| 1927 | R&D Department established Corporate song established |
| 1928 | Gembu Marseille Soap won awards |
| 1931 | Shanghai Plant started operation |
| 1934 | Launched a higher alcohol-based detergent (later MONOGEN) First company newsletter published |
| 1935 | Launched a softener PANSOFTER and GENBU SHAMPOO for household use |
| 1939 | Yokkaichi Plant opened for production of MONOGEN and PANSOFTER |
| 1949 | Listed on the Stock Exchange Market (Capital: JPY 60 million) |
| 1950 | Launched synthetic thickener sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) CELLOGEN |
| 1952 | A heavy oil combustion-driven parallel flow dryer for MONOGEN installed at Tokyo Plant |
| 1953 | Nonionic surfactant NOIGEN production started at Kyoto Plant |
| 1956 | A counter-flow spray drier installed at Kyoto Plant Synthetic detergent automatic packing machine installed Capital: JPY 450 million Launched Japan's first hollow granular synthetic detergent ALCO |
| 1958 | Business cooperation started with Royal Dutch Shell (UK) |
| 1959 | Yokkaichi Chemical Co., Ltd. established for production and sales of nonionic surfactants |
| 1960 | Ohgata Plant opened and production of CELLOGEN (CMC) by solvent method started Capital: JPY 750 million |
| 1961 | A counter-flow spray drier additionally installed at Kyoto Plant Capital: JPY 1.3 billion |
| 1963 | Polyether production facilities installed at Yokkaichi Plant Polyurethane business started |
| 1964 | Nippon Teepol established |
| 1966 | "Softened" all synthetic home detergents (first among Japanese manufacturers) Launched home laundry detergent ALCO COLOR Dai-ichi General Co., Ltd. established with General Mills |
| 1967 | Business cooperation started with Mitsuwa Kasei |
| 1969 | Flame retardant production facilities installed at Ohgata Plant Launched flame retardant PYROGUARD Ichikawa Plant opened Nippon Levulose Co., Ltd. established Nippon Sunhome established with Asahi Denka Kogyo and Mitsuwa Soap Joint management of Dai-ichi Soap started |
| 1970 | Launched sucrose fatty acid esters DK ESTER |
| 1972 | P&G Sunhome established |
| 1973 | Gembu Co., Ltd. established for sales of detergents and machinery for professional laundry |
| 1974 | Launched thermoreactive textile finishing agent ELASTRON |
| 1976 | Launched pigment dispersant MONOPET SB |
| 1977 | Production agreement with P&G Sunhome started |
| 1978 | Chin Yee Chemical Industries Ltd. established in Taiwan |
| 1981 | Launched radiation-curable monomer NEW FRONTIER DKS International established Tokyo Plant shut down |
| 1982 | Launched polyurethane water dispersion SUPERFLEX Dai-ichi Clean Chemical, Inc. and Dai-ichi Business Service Co., Ltd. established |
| 1985 | Nippon Levulose renamed to Dai-ichi Kagaku Kogyo |
| 1986 | Kyoto Elex Co., Ltd. established as a joint venture with Dowa Mining Co., Ltd. |
| 1987 | K&D Fine Chemical Corporation established as a joint venture with Kawasaki Steel Corporation |
| 1988 | Dai-ichi Ceramo Co., Ltd. established for production and sales of CIM and MIM materials |
| 1989 | 80th anniversary Dai-ichi Kenkou Co., Ltd. established for production and sales of materials for construction & civil engineering |
| 1990 | Capital: JPY 5,577 billion Launched CFC/ethane-substituting water-based washing agent DK BE-CLEAR and electric insulating polyurethane EIMFLEX |
| 1992 | Sisterna B.V. established in the Netherlands Launched polymerizable surfactant HITENOL |
| 1996 | P.T. Dai-ichi Kimia Raya established in Indonesia Sucrose esters plant opened at Dai-ichi Kagaku Kogyo Ozone Layer Protection Award granted by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) |
| 1998 | Ohgata Plant CMC production ISO9002 certified Joined Japan Responsible Care Council (JRCC) |
| 2000 | Yokkaichi Plant ISO9002 certified Kyoto Plant shut down Osaka Branch opened Official website opened |
| 2001 | Dai-ichi Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. merged to DKS, ISO9002 certified |
| 2002 | All plants ISO14001 certified Elexcel Corporation established for battery materials R&D Chin Yee Chemical Technologies (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. established in China |
| 2003 | All plants ISO9001 certified First Environmental Safety Report published Launched polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) CREEJUS & PITZCOL |
| 2004 | DKS (Shanghai) International Trading Co., Ltd. established in China |
| 2005 | Shuang Yi Li (Tianjin) New Energy Co., Ltd. established in China |
| 2006 | Capital: JPY 6.650 billion R&D laboratories ISO9001 certified Laboratories relocated to Kisshoin, Kyoto |
| 2007 | Headquarters relocated to Kisshoin, Kyoto |
| 2009 | 100th anniversary |
| 2011 | Capital: JPY 7.14 billion Yokkaichi Chemical became 100% subsidiary Tokyo Branch relocated to Kyobashi, Chuo-ku |
| 2012 | Tokyo Branch changed to Tokyo Headquarters |
| 2013 | English company name changed from Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd. to DKS Co. Ltd. Launched cellulose nanofiber (CNF) RHEOCRYSTA |
| 2015 | Capital: JPY 8.90 billion Kasumi Plant opened at Yokkaichi Branch Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. established in Singapore |
| 2016 | First DKS Report (annual report) published |
| 2017 | Safety Education Center established at Kasumi Plant |
| 2018 | Biococoon Laboratories, Inc. became subsidiary IKEDA YAKUSOU CO., LTD. became subsidiary |
| 2019 | Tanakura Plant opened |
| 2020 | DKS was selected as a "Health & Productivity Stock" for the first time |
| 2021 | Announcement of Naturido, a new active ingredient expected to improve cognitive function |
| 2022 | Launched TENCHUKASOU (health food) |
| 2023 | Launched Kainou Tochukasou (food with functional claims) |
| 2024 | Launched smell canceling spray NIOCAN Headquarters relocated to Hachijo Gate, Kyoto Station |
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