Social Report
【Column】 Vinylon and Our CSR Philosophy
Vinylon, the synthetic fiber registered as a "Technological Legacy for the Future"
Kuraray was the first firm in the world to commercially manufacture vinylon*, Japan's first domestically
produced synthetic fiber. Last year, which marked the 60th anniversary of the start of our operations,
vinylon was registered as a "Technological Legacy for the Future" by the National Museum of Nature
and Science. The technologies spawned by vinylon and the development of business in poval, its base
material, are major pillars supporting the business of today's Kuraray Group.
Along with vinylon, we have always cherished our management philosophy, whose kernel
conviction is summed up in the words of Soichiro Ohara, our second president: "The profit that
companies ought to gain must be that as compensation for benefit and contribution to society and the
national economy through technical innovation."
- * Product name of vinylon in English is KURALON
Commitment to Purely Domestic Production
Soichiro escorting Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida at the exhibit and sales show for vinylon weavings
In November 1950, Kuraray began to produce five tons of vinylon per day at its Okayama Plant. Commercial manufacture of vinylon grew out of a solid sense of mission on the part of Soichiro Ohara, who believed it would fire the spirits of the Japanese after their loss of confidence with their defeat in the war.
Around the same time, other Japanese firms began producing nylon with technology introduced from the United States, but vinylon was the focus of high hopes among the Japanese, for a different reason: in resource-poor Japan, it could be synthesized by means of limestone, electricity (hydropower), and air (oxygen), and was to be the first purely domestically produced type of fiber.
In May 1949, Kuraray held an exhibit and sales show for vinylon, which was then in trial production, at Mitsukoshi's main store in Tokyo. The show was absolutely thronged, and underscored the magnitude of the reaction garnered by the product.
An ad for a vinylon school uniform
Nevertheless, production of vinylon required an immense investment of some 1.4 billion yen, far outweighing the 250 million yen which the Kuraray of that day had in capital. Unable to get the amount of financial aid it anticipated from the government in connection with policy for development of synthetic fiber industry, its procurement of the necessary funds reached an impasse. Soichiro decided to go directly to Mr. Hisato Ichimada, then the governor of the Bank of Japan, and sought his cooperation, pointing out that the business was not for the profit of a single company but for the recovery of Japan's textile industry as a whole. His enthusiasm led to the determination of joint financing of 1.4 billion yen by a consortium of 15 banks in October 1949.
This financing gave birth to vinylon, but the business was endangered for a while, partly due to problems such as a low amenability to dyeing, when the Japanese economy slumped once a truce was declared in the Korean War. Thereafter, however, Kuraray made repeated technical innovations and gradually built the business up while expanding the circle of applications to fishing nets, industrial materials, and school uniforms and other apparel.
Plant Export to China
In this situation, a delegation from China's chemical industry arrived in Japan and expressed a desire to import a vinylon plant in order to increase production of synthetic fiber for consumer use. At the time, relations between Japan and China had not yet been normalized, and export of plant facilities to China was highly exceptional. Moreover, the prospect turned into a political issue, given Japan's friendly relations with Taiwan. Under these circumstances, Kuraray actively lobbied with the Japanese government, heads of political parties, and even Western-Bloc diplomatic circles. These efforts paid off in August 1963, when it obtained the Japanese government's approval for the export as trade based on the Japan-China LT Trade Memorandum (signed in November 1962 by Tatsunosuke Takasaki and Liao Chengzhi). This was the first plant export by a country in the Western Bloc to China.
For Kuraray, export of this plant was not merely an economic undertaking; it was also a case of management with awareness of social responsibility.
The poval plant (left) and vinylon plant (right) constructed in China
In an article published in the magazine "Sekai" ("The World"), Soichiro made the following statement.
"The poval and vinylon technologies are corporate assets created by the 10,000 employees working at Kurashiki Rayon, a single Japanese company, who toiled and sweated undaunted by the postwar hardships. As the manager of this company, I consequently have the duty to sell the fruits of these technologies for compensation in order to profit the company. Nevertheless, I have one fervent wish in this connection. While a daily production of 30 tons of vinylon translates into an annual supply averaging only 0.017 kilograms of fiber per capita of the population of some 650 million, it would still improve, even if slightly, the lives of the Chinese masses lamenting a lack of textiles. And I also hope it would be some reparation on behalf of the Japanese of the past, who wreaked such devastation and misery, in both the material and non-material aspects, in China during the war. My wish is nothing more than this."
The Contribution of Vinylon
Roof slate made with vinylon-reinforced cement
With the subsequent rise of the general-purpose fiber polyester, vinylon fell out of favor in the field of apparel. It nevertheless made inroads in applications making the most of the features of this original technology, including high levels of strength and modulus, hydrophile properties, and resistance to chemicals and weather. Kuraray promoted its use for items such as cheesecloth (a woven net-form material used in agriculture), nets for cultivation of laver, and other materials used in farming and fishing, as well as rope, sails, fire-fighting garments, and work garments. In more recent years, it developed additional applications for vinylon, chiefly in the field of industrial materials including separators for mercury-free alkali batteries and oil brake hoses in automobiles. Vinylon has also found an expanding demand as a reinforcing agent for cement, especially in Europe. It is helping to improve life for people around the world as an environmental material alternative to asbestos.
The zeal which Soichiro felt about vinylon is at the foundation of Kuraray's CSR philosophy and business, and so is being carried on today.
The Torch Kindled by Shiko Munakata's "Vinylon Shohanga Saku"
When the commercialization of vinylon was in its final stages, Soichiro made the following comment to woodcut artist Shiko Munakata: "I am staking our destiny on the vinylon business. We must get vinylon production on track, also to put the Japanese economy on independent footing. I need a guiding torch for this challenge. I wonder if you could express these aspirations of mine for vinylon in woodcuts?" At the time, Japan was right in the middle of an economic slump triggered by the so-called "Dodge Line", and Soichiro was having trouble managing the company. He sought the encouragement needed to break through the difficulties in Munakata's art.
Munakata wielded his chisels with his perspiring face almost touching the surface of the wood he was carving. Eventually, he produced a series of four works, each measuring one square meter and consisting of four carved panels. Titled "Vinylon Shohanga Saku" ("Woodcuts in Praise of Vinylon"), the series is one of Munakata's major works and based on Friedrich Nietsche's "Thus Spake Zarathustra".
"Vinylon Shohanga Saku" (also known as the "Destiny Woodcuts"): from the Kuraray collection (prints from the same woodcuts are in the Ohara Museum of Art)
"Daybreak"
"Noon"
"Evening"
"Midnight"
The Roots of Vinylon
Vinylon was born 60 years ago and is still one of our mainstay products. It has rapidly evolved to meet the needs of the times. When I reflect on why I am doing this work, it occurs to me how vital my role is. In short, by selling this product, I am assisting the advancement of Japanese industry, helping to preserve the environment, and contributing to the safety of consumers. I intend to use these three insights on our standpoint or role as guidelines to be applied in running the business into the future. Because it is a corporate activity, we naturally have to turn a profit. But I also am determined to be true to the spirit of "for society and for people".
(Hitoshi Toyoura, General Manager of the Fibers and Industrial Materials Division)
