Imerys in Japan
Our Japanese sales teams serve the markets of Japan and South East Asia with a full range of solutions and services based on our vast portfolio of minerals, including calcium carbonate, kaolin, talc, mica, wollastonite, diatomaceous earth, carbon black, graphite, andalusite, calcium aluminate, fused alumina, mullite, fused silica and zirconia.
Performance minerals to enhance paper, paints, plastics and more
Our calcium carbonate operations started in 1969. Nowadays, we employ around 30 people at our offices and processing plants in Miyagi and Niigata, producing ground calcium carbonates (GCC) such as the Carbital series – a benchmark on the market.
Founded in 1974 as Nihon Mistron, our talc operations joined the Imerys group in 2011. Today, our two talc processing plants in Tomakomai and Suzuka employ about 20 people.
Alongside GCC and talc, we also supply a broad array of kaolin, mica, wollastonite and diatomaceous earth (DE) solutions, sourced from Imerys sites in Europe, the US, Canada and Brazil, under well-known brand names such as Hydrite, Polestar, Suzorite, Nyad, Nyglos and Celite.
Our performance minerals business serves the paper, plastics, rubber, paint, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and ceramics markets, among others.
Graphite and carbon for Lithium-ion batteries, energy storage, conductive polymers and other engineering applications
Our graphite and carbon business in Japan now directly employs around 30 people: in our unique production facility in Kitakyushu, producing coated materials through a proprietary chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process; in our R&D center in Kawasaki, which specifically focuses on developments in Lithium-ion and energy storage applications; and as part of our local customer service and commercial team based in our Tokyo office.
Our product portfolio includes conductive carbon black as well as synthetic, natural and coated graphite, targeting the lithium-ion and alkaline battery industry and plastics, rubber, carbon brush, brake pad and powder metallurgy markets, and even more diversified business fields.
High resistance minerals for abrasives and refractories
Our high resistance minerals business started out in 1981 as Treibacher N. E. Asia. Our current business is the result of the 2015 merger between Imerys Fused Minerals and Imerys Refractory Minerals, as well as the subsequent acquisition of Kerneos Japan in 2018.
With a team of around 10 people, we sell solutions based on andalusite, calcium aluminate cement, cement admixture, clay, fused alumina, mullite, fused silica and zirconia to meet the needs of the refractory, abrasives, advanced ceramics, friction and building materials markets.
*Talc products are not available in the USA and Canada. Contact us for an alternative range.
Key Figures
Abrasives
Whether you are looking to polish, sand, smoothen, grind, or even cut a workpiece, you want to be sure that the material used, its hardness and grain size are right for the job at hand. We are the world leader in fused minerals for abrasives, ready to assist and deliver on all your finishing needs.
