June 1998

Cooperative Relationship Established with SC Johnson Polymer Relating to Low Cost, Environmentally Sound Production Technology for Acrylic Polymer

Toagosei and SC Johnson Polymer have signed a contract covering the licensing and joint development of solid grade oligomer (SGO), polymer technology which SC Johnson Polymer developed and for which it owns the worldwide patent. Under this contract, Toagosei is going to start a joint research and development project aimed at joint product development based on SGO polymer technology in the Asian region including Japan, as well as the application and expansion of SGO polymer technology. Market areas to be developed are coatings, adhesives, plastics, electronic materials and dispersion agents. SC Johnson Polymer is the polymer division of SC Johnson Commercial Markets and manufactures and markets resins for printing, packaging, coating and adhesive.

SGO polymer technology is a continuous bulk polymerization technology. With this method, a polymer with a comparatively small molecular weight can be made from materials such as methacrylic acid, methacrylic ester, maleic acid, styrene and vinyl ester. Its characteristics are as follows.

• With only with a few minutes to less than an hour of residence time, a polymer can be produced. Therefore, production costs can be significantly reduced compared to current methods.
• Since it is possible to polymerize without using solvents or initiators, high quality polymers with durability and other properties, can be produced.
• As a polymer with a small molecular weight can easily be made, it is possible to construct high solid or insolvent polymers which satisfy the requirements dictated by environmental problems or limited resources.

Toagosei manufactures and markets a wide range of acrylic polymers, which include water-soluble, emulsion and liquid forms. By introducing the technology developed by SC Johnson Polymer, we will be able to systematize and differentiate production technology as well as promote the development of new acrylic polymer products. We believe this will also assist our current efforts to differentiate and reduce the cost of acrylic polymer technology, while encouraging business development in the Asian region.

Based on this contract, Toagosei plans to build its own plant for SGO polymer technology and start full-scale market development this fiscal year. With regard to using SGO polymer technology to develop the domestic market, Toagosei will develop the technology alone in areas where its strengths lie, such as dispersion agents and materials for civil engineering projects, and will develop the technology jointly with Johnson Polymer Co., Ltd. (President: Akira Otsuki, 2-4-18, Omorikita, Ota-ku, Tokyo), a joint venture company formed by SC Johnson Polymer and Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co., Ltd., in the fields of printing, packaging, coating, adhesives, plastics, and electronic materials.
Through this projected business expansion based on SGO polymer technology, Toagosei expects demand for acrylic polymers for printing, painting and as dispersion agents, and so forth, to reach a level tens of thousands of tons per year after the year 2000.