Company

Our company

Outline

Trading name
Microwave Chemical Co., Ltd (in Japanese: Maikuroha Kagaku Kabushiki Kaisha)
Established
15 August 2007
Representative
YOSHINO Iwao
Number of employees
59 (including 13 with PhDs, as of 1 December 2022)
Business activities
Research & development and engineering of microwave chemical process Licensing of microwave chemical process

Team

Management team

  • President and CEO

    Iwao Yoshino

  • Director and CSO

    Yasunori Tsukahara

  • Outside director

    Urata Koyu

  • Director(Full-time Audit and Supervisory Committee Member)

    Tomoya Shimojo

  • Outside director(Audit and Supervisory Committee Member)

    Takahashi Yuko

  • Outside director(Audit and Supervisory Committee Member)

    Saito Shuichi

R&D Structure

  • Fellow

    Yuji Wada

IP Strategists/Consultant Patent Attorneys

Uchida & Samejima Law Firm

Masahiro Samejima

Lawyer/Patent Attorney

Yuichi Sugio,

Lawyer/Patent Attorney

IRD Patent Office

Hidekazu Tanigawa

Patent attorney

Norimichi Morimoto

Patent attorney

Corporate Legal/General Counsel

Eiko Sogo, Law Office

Gou Morita

Lawyer

History

2007August
Microwave Environmental Chemicals Co., Ltd established in Kyoto, Japan, to commercialize microwave chemical processes.
2008October
Head office relocated to Saito Bio Innovation Centre.
2009March
First fully flow-type reactor (MWF-1 – for biodiesel) launched from the Shimaya business incubator in Osaka.
2011January
UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital) subscribed to Series A private placement, for a total of JPY 120 million.
March
Second fully flow-type reactor (MWF-2 – for manufacturing chemical products) launched from the Kobe Municipal Manufacturing Reconstruction Plant.
June
Came third out of 24 companies selected internationally for bizbarcelona’s Global Entrepreneurship Competition.
November
Company name changed from Microwave Environmental Chemicals Co., Ltd to Microwave Chemical Co., Ltd.
December
Granted dominant patent for “Chemical reaction apparatus and chemical reaction method”.
2012August
Fatty acid esters, the first product from the Kobe Plant, shipped to Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.
October
Head office relocated to the Techno Alliance building on Osaka University’s Suita Campus.
2013May
UTEC, NVCC, Shinsei Bank and JAFCO subscribed to Series B private placement, for a total of over JPY 700 million, aimed at accelerating R&D and establishing the Osaka Plant.
2014March
Construction of Osaka Plant (M3K/) completed.
June
INCJ, JAFCO, UTEC and NVCC subscribed to Series C private placement, for a total of JPY 1.2 billion, aimed at launching new businesses and strengthening next generation pipeline R&D. Relocated to 3F of the Techno Alliance building.
October
Concluded co-development agreement with BASF to improve energy efficiency in polymer production processes.
2015April
Established TMT Co., Ltd, a joint venture with Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd to produce food additives.
November
Series D private placement, for a total of JPY 880 million, aimed at funding the construction of a new plant as a joint venture with Taiyo Kagaku, and as development funds for further expansion of MWCC’s areas of business.
2017March
TMT completed construction of microwave-based food additive manufacturing plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.
Series E private placement of a total of JPY 400 million, aimed at further expanding the joint venture plant business and strengthening the development structure.
September
Concluded strategic capital alliance with Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. for joint R&D of new microwave-based chemical processes and systems.
November
Concluded strategic business alliance with Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd to promote the sophistication of microwave-assisted production processes and the development of new functional materials.
Concluded strategic business alliance with Futamura Chemical Co., Ltd to reinvent existing production processes and develop new materials using microwaves.
December
Concluded strategic capital and business alliance with Iwatani Corporation for full-scale entry into the next-generation materials sector.
2019May
Construction of second pilot facility at Osaka Plant completed.
November
Series G private placement of a total of JPY 770 million, aimed at strengthening our R&D fundamentals through recruitment, infrastructure development and the like.
2020January
Construction of new office building at Osaka Plant completed.
2021April
Head office relocated to the Photonics Center on Osaka University’s Suita Campus.
2022June
Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market