DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Asahi Kasei announced that in March of this year the company relocated the Asahi Kasei Europe R&D Center from Dormagen, Germany, to the location at Düsseldorf Harbor, Germany, where the company started office operations of Asahi Kasei Europe in November 2020. By uniting European sales, marketing and R&D activities, the Japanese technology company further enhances its business with the European automotive industry.

Hideki Tsutsumi, Managing Director at Asahi Kasei Europe, said, “This relocation marks the next important milestone of Asahi Kasei’s expansion on the European market. Europe is at the forefront of an evolution in the automotive industry that is said to happen once in a century. In addition, it is the forerunner in environmental topics. Uniting sales, marketing, R&D and technical service activities at one single location will enable us to quickly address the changing demands by customers and to enhance joint projects with local partners.”

The office building has open office and meeting spaces with a clear view on the waterside and the Düsseldorf skyline. In the new showroom, the company displays its materials and solutions for the automotive industry, ranging from sustainable microfiber materials for interior seat and headliner coverings to innovative foam products and separators for battery applications. The adjacent hall building is home to the Asahi Kasei Europe R&D Center, with laboratory space for various materials, such as engineering plastics, synthetic rubber, as well as for battery and coating materials.

“The new office spaces will further foster the cross-divisional communication within Asahi Kasei Europe, but also the cross organizational communication with other European Asahi Kasei Group companies. Naturally, this will also be of great benefit to our customers”, said Tsutsumi.

After the establishment of Asahi Kasei Europe and its sister company Asahi Kasei Microdevices Europe at Am Seestern in Düsseldorf in April 2016, the companies have been accelerating the activities towards the European automotive industry. Following the establishment of Asahi Kasei Europe, Asahi Kasei opened the Asahi Kasei Europe R&D Center in CHEMPARK Dormagen in October 2017, which provided local technical support and strengthened the cooperation and joint development with European companies and universities.

In the five years since its establishment, Asahi Kasei Europe has built a strong network in Düsseldorf. The annual “Asahi Kasei Europe Business Forum” has become a well-established conference and networking event for customers and partners. Furthermore, Asahi Kasei Europe is a strong supporter of Sports City Düsseldorf and is actively promoting the traditional Japanese Judo sports by conducting annual Judo Workshops in Düsseldorf.

Tsutsumi continued, “Düsseldorf is a great hub for business activities in Europe and in close proximity to technical universities. With this relocation we are further committing ourselves to our home base Düsseldorf – a very important sign in times of COVID-19. We are very much looking forward to create this next chapter of Asahi Kasei Europe together with our customers and partners.”