New Year Message from President and CEO, Manabu Chikumoto

Happy New Year, everyone.

Let me begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to all employees who, 365 days a year—including during the year-end and New Year holidays—make tireless efforts to ensure safe and reliable operations and maintain high quality.

 

The management team, myself included, made a commitment both internally and externally that, over the three-year period beginning April 2024, we would rigorously execute the “Three disciplined approaches in business operations” and demonstrate clear trajectory. This year marks the important milestone of the third and final year of that period.

 

Over the past year, we have advanced the transformation of our systems and business processes, including the rollout of “Mone-G,” which integrates our global ERP systems, and the completion of “Mone-M,” the integration of mission-critical systems used by the three companies that came together to form the current MCC. I would like to once again express my deep appreciation to everyone involved, especially those on the front lines who supported the go-live, and to the teams who responded swiftly to challenges through dedicated hypercare.

 

Over the past one year and nine months, we have made a series of difficult decisions, including business transfers, withdrawals, and site closures. With the firm resolve that Mitsubishi Chemical cannot survive unless it changes now, we also carried out the Next-stage Support Program (NSP). To those who chose to pursue new opportunities outside the company, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your many years of dedication and contribution.

 

To everyone who will continue to engage in our business, I ask you not only to ensure safe and reliable operations and maintain high quality, but also to once again reflect on how you can contribute to the company—whether by improving productivity, enhancing product value, or in other ways.

 

At the same time, we have steadily invested in our future. We have made investment decisions in growth-driving businesses such as anode materials, OPL FILM, synthetic quartz powder, semiconductor precision cleaning, and high-performance engineering plastics, as we work to build a sustainable earnings foundation. This year, a series of new and expanded capacities will come on stream, including polyester film in Germany, emulsifier in Fukuoka, anode materials in Kagawa, expanded precision cleaning at Shinryo in Fukushima and Iwate, and the full-scale ramp-up of CPC operations in Italy. By effectively capturing market needs, let us make this new year one of decisive progress toward further growth.

 

This year is associated with the zodiac sign known as “Hinoeuma,” or the Fire Horse. While it once carried a negative image, it is originally regarded as an auspicious sign that comes only once every sixty years, symbolizing the energy of the sun and fire (“hinoe”) combined with the dynamism of the horse (“uma”). With its connotations of challenge, passion, growth, and a leap forward, “Hinoeuma” captures where we stand today as a company.

 

We are advancing our evolution into a “Green Specialty Company” as we work to realize “KAITEKI Vision 35.” Each and every one of us is expected to take ownership and responsibility, approach our work as our own, and connect with colleagues beyond organizational and businesses boundaries, and beyond national borders, while cherishing “Our Way”—Integrity, Respect, Bravery, and Collaboration—to build a company where people can work with pride, energy, and a sense of purpose.

 

Safety and compliance form the foundation of everything that we do. We must never forget that they are essential to our very existence as a company. Let us eliminate the “four bad habits”—making assumptions, stopping critical thinking, wishful thinking, and a lack of imagination—and put into practice the “four MAMORU” initiatives: protecting human life, human rights, the environment, and respecting rules.

 

To ensure that the baton each of you holds today is passed on to the future, please approach every task and every responsibility with the seriousness and care of running a family business.

 

In closing, I sincerely wish all of you and your families a year of good health and happiness. Let us ignite our own inner passion and devote ourselves to our business in the year ahead. Thank you very much.