New Year Message from Hidehito Takahashi, President and CEO

January 04, 2022

2022 is crucial for the process toward complete integration

Since 2019, in which the Company announced that it would acquire former Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd. (current Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd.), the scheme for integration of Showa Denko (SDK) and Showa Denko Materials (SDMC) has been proceeding smoothly due to the effort of you all in the Showa Denko Group. As a result, in January 2022, we achieved substantial integration of the two companies through unification of the two companies’ management systems. It was an excellent result because it was achieved one year earlier than the schedule which had been announced through the “Long-term Vison for Newly Integrated Company” published in December 2020. In January 2023, we will integrate legal personalities of the two companies. Thus 2022 is a crucial year for us because we will enter the finishing stages of our works to integrate the two companies.

Corporate Philosophy of the newly integrated company

In order to make the new company, which is to be born as a result of integration of SDK and SDMC, a top-class chemical company that can win the global competition, the management and all employees of the Showa Denko Group must make further effort in unity. With this in mind, we have set four Values consisting of “Passionate & Results-Driven,” “Agile & Flexible,” “Open Minds & Open Connections,” and “Solid Vision & Solid Integrity” as values that the Showa Denko Group should consider important. We have added these four Values to the Purpose of newly-integrated company we stated in the Long-term Vision, which is “Change society through the power of chemistry,” and defined the set of Purpose and four Values as newly integrated company’s Corporate Philosophy.

Hereafter, we will repeatedly disseminate these Values to make it shared by all the members of the Showa Denko Group with strong empathy. Furthermore, we will commit ourselves to raise highly competent people who can improve themselves, reform work style, and make innovations.

Company that contributes to a sustainable global society

Sustainability is an important factor for a company that competes in the global market. We positioned “Company that contributes to a sustainable global society” as an ideal state of the Showa Denko Group, and have been grappling with various initiatives including energy conservation, provision of products and services that contribute to realization of recycling-oriented society, promotion of diversity and inclusion, respect for human rights, and reduction of environmental burden caused by the Showa Denko Group’s business activities. Moreover, in 2021, the Group announced its will to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this target, we have to make various innovations and invest much money. In order to take these measures steadily, every business of the Group should aim to fill expected role, and the Group should continuously achieve net sales of 1 trillion yen or more and EBITDA margin of 20% or higher, thereby making the Group a highly profitable company.

Together with the colleagues sharing Values, let us make the Showa Denko Group a top-class chemical company that can win the global competition.