The Story of the Birth of New Products: KURALON and PVA

KURALON test production facility (Kurashiki)

PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) was created in Germany and then developed further in Japan. Although research into synthetic fibers first began during early years of the Showa Era in Japan, results started to take form in 1939. The first Japanese produced synthetic fiber “Synthetic No. 1” was born under the guidance of former Professor Ichiro Sakurada of Kyoto Imperial University.

Kuraray, which had pushed forward with research into synthetic fiber from early on, began to look for ways to turn this research into useful industrial applications as quickly as possible. Although these efforts were temporarily interrupted by the effects of the Pacific War, the original trial production facility was restored in 1948 and research was resumed into the development of a polyvinyl alcohol-based synthetic fiber. This is when Kuraray began to take up the challenge of commercializing PVA fiber.

Then President Soichiro Ohara summoned the members of the R&D team to his home, where he once again confirmed whether or not it was technically feasible to commercialize this material. It is said that everyone responded in unison indicating their confidence that it could indeed be done.

Once Kuraray was able to get a trial production facility up and running and produce samples of KURALON, President Ohara went ahead and held an exhibition of this new material at the main Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo the following year in 1949. The expectations for Japan’s first synthetic fiber far exceeded anything imagined, with numerous key government and business leaders of the time, including Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, visiting the exhibition.

However, financing the next stage of mass production was a major problem. It would require massive amounts of money, exceeding some ¥1.4 billion (equivalent to about ¥50 billion today). Since the capital of the company was no more than ¥250 million at that time, taking on such a business endeavor was quite risky.

In order to raise the necessary funds, President Ohara went as far as negotiating directly with the Governor of the Bank of Japan seeking his cooperation. At the time, President Ohara fervently argued that the funds were not for building up a business for the profit of a single company, but were to be used to build up the fiber and textile industry of Japan. His efforts paid off in the form of a syndicated loan from fifteen banks.

PVA plant immediately after completion (Okayama)

It was the R&D team and the sales staff supporting them, with their belief in the power of technology, who took on the challenge of overcoming these difficulties. Upon hearing that the R&D team had developed an extra strength KURALON fiber using a method to partially polymerize¹ PVA, the sales staff developed a market for fishing ropes and nets. Good news followed with the sale of KURALON student uniforms exceeding those made of cotton. These accomplishments firmly placed Kuraray in an impregnable position in the market. Further demand for KURALON was expanding in the private sector thanks to development of public demand encouraged by a government policy of fostering the synthetic fiber industry. This policy was introduced by the Conference within the Cabinet to promote demand in the government sector. In 1959, total production of KURALON grew more than ever, with more than half the company’s earnings coming from KURALON related sales.

President Ohara made clear his strong belief in independent self-reliance in the company newsletter as follows:
“It is not desirable for us, now or in the future, to overly praise any method or approach used to improve oneself, whether it consists of simply copying and adapting an existing method or entails purchasing the knowledge from others in the form of an acquisition. If we ever forget that those things truly worth having are only found within ourselves and are acquired through our own dedication and effort, this then would in effect be no different than casting away all hope for the future.”

It was this very corporate culture of putting top priority on the ability to develop truly original technologies and techniques that made it possible for Kuraray to develop high value-added products imbued with originality.

Exterior of the PVA research laboratory
(Kurashiki, as of February 2006)

Concerned voices from the workplace crying that the company could no longer afford to go on this way moved management to restart PVA resin research and development five years after it had been downsized. The main focus of the research was on the development of products that would be competitive in specialized areas rather than on general purpose products. Thus, although, the development of PVA resin technology had in one sense matured, high-performance PVA resin looked promising in that further added value could be realized by specializing in various characteristics of the substance.

Specific subjects of research were entrusted to each scientist of the R&D team. The morale of the team soared, motivated by an ambitious desire to achieve success, and the competition between researchers intensified. Since the high level of basic technology needed to produce general purpose PVA resins already existed and the work environment was also revitalized within the organization, the total number of patent applications soon multiplied. This formed the cornerstone of research and development that supported the business of the next generation.