Asahi Kasei Corp. President Toshio Asano plans to step down to take responsibility for a piling data fabrication scandal involving a subsidiary, informed sources said Sunday.
Chief Financial Officer Hideki Kobori, 61, is expected to replace Asano, 63, as president of the major chemicals maker, the sources said.
Asahi Kasei Construction Materials Corp. was recently found to have fabricated data on 360 of the 3,052 piling projects it conducted over the past 10 years, a scandal that dealt a blow to Asahi Kasei’s image. Despite being a chemical giant, Asahi Kasei is also known for building quality houses under the Hebel Haus brand.
The personnel change comes as the parent’s new midterm business plan goes into force in April.
Asano took the helm of Asahi Kasei in April 2014 as the first president selected from the health care division. Kobori comes from the electronics materials division.
Source: The Japan Times
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.) announced it has acquired Ai-Red Technology (Dalian) Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and supplier of paint protection and window film for auto and architectural markets in the Asia Pacific region.
BASF and Israeli packager StePac have joined forces to create the “next generation” of fresh produce packaging. BASF will provide StePac with greater flexibility to advance contact-sensitive packaging formats to a higher sustainability standard by supplying StePac with Ultramid Ccycled – a chemically recycled polyamide 6.
TotalEnergies’ biorefinery in La Mède, France, allows direct access to renewable feedstock for its drop-in RE:newable polymer range derived from bio-based products. The company claims these polymers retain virgin-like properties.
