Hitachi Chemical has announced the establishment of a Development Centre in Malaysia in May 2018 to develop and evaluate electrical insulating varnishes and functional coating resins for paint and ink at Hitachi Chemical (Johor). The centre will introduce equipment for examining the composition of resin products and devices for evaluating the coating and adhesion properties of resin products for base materials. The Centre will enable Hitachi Chemical to quickly develop resin products in response to customer needs in Asia.

In recent years, the demand for resin products has been growing in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, where the market for electrical insulating varnishes and functional coating resins for paint and ink has been growing at a rate of approximately 5 percent (annual rate, value basis, estimated by Hitachi Chemical), and is expected to rise steadily in the future.

Currently, Hitachi Chemical is providing new resin product development and technological services to its customers primarily at Yamazaki Works (Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan) and Goi Works (Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, Japan). But Hitachi Chemical has received an increasing number of requests for more timely responses to the needs of its customers in Asia, such as earlier development of resin products suitable for the region’s temperatures and humidity.