Kaneka Completes Construction of Medical Device Plant in Hokkaido

－Tomatoh Manufacturing Site, the First New Domestic Business Location in 54 Years－

KANEKA CORPORATION
August 28, 2024
Kaneka Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Kazuhiko Fujii) opened its Tomatoh Manufacturing Site in the Tomakomai Tobu Area of Hokkaido for the purpose of portfolio transformation and business expansion and held the opening ceremony on August 26. The Tomatoh Manufacturing Site is the seventh domestic business location*1 for the company and the first new one in 54 years.

The medical device plant*2 completed at Tomatoh Manufacturing Site will produce adsorption type blood purification devices " Rheocarna™ " and adsorption type plasma purification devices " Liposorber™ ". The number of patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) *3, which these medical devices are intended to treat, is on the rise worldwide, along with increases in diabetes, chronic renal failure, and other conditions. By securing the supply base through the new plant, we will dramatically expand our medical business to meet global demand.
The plant has achieved full automation of its production lines as a "smart factory" utilizing robot technology and plans to realize a "zero energy factory" that will reduce the primary energy consumption of the factory building to zero by using our photovoltaic modules, thereby promoting sustainable manufacturing.

In the future, Tomatoh Manufacturing Site will be actively utilized as a new production base for each business, as well as for further expansion of the medical business.

Based on our mission of "KANEKA thinks 'Wellness First'.", we will realize a world where advanced medical care is accessible to everyone and where science contributes to the innovation of the global environment and our daily lives. From Tomakomai, "Kaneka, the Dream Factory" will make this vision a reality.



                         
                                   Tomatoh Manufacturing Site                                               Product packaging by robot

         
                                           
                                                                                 The Opening Ceremony


（From the left）
Yoshiro Aikawa, President of Taisei Corporation
Jun Kimura, Deputy Mayor of Tomakomai-city
Naomichi Suzuki, Governor of Hokkaido
Kimikazu Sugawara, Chairman of Kaneka Corporation
Kazuhiko Fujii, President of Kaneka Corporation
Shigenobu Sano, Senior Executive Director of Tomatoh Co., Ltd.

 
*1. Domestic business locations: Takasago Manufacturing Site, Osaka Manufacturing Site, Shiga Manufacturing Site, Kashima Manufacturing Site, Tomatoh Manufacturing Site, Tokyo Head Office, Osaka Head Office
*2. News Release January 23, 2022
Kaneka to Construct New Medical Device Plant in Hokkaido　- Roughly 10 billion yen investment aimed at expanding global business -
https://www.kaneka.co.jp/en/topics/news/2022/ennr2201241.html
*3. A disease that causes arteriosclerosis where stenosis and occlusion of lower limbs artery occurred, leading to impaired blood flow (ischemia). In the early stages, it causes coldness, numbness, and gait disturbance. When the disease progresses to critical limb ischemia with pain and ulceration, the risk of leg amputation and death increases.



<About Tomatoh Manufacturing Site>
Company Name: Kaneka Corporation Tomatoh Manufacturing Site
Completed: August 26, 2024
Location: 6-253 Kashiwabara, Tomakomai-city, Hokkaido
Business Description: Production of medical devices