AEROSIL® – A Success Story Now in Asia

The first shipment of AEROSIL® 200 left the Yokkaichi production facility in November 1968—marking the first chapter of a success story. Nippon Aerosil Co.，Ltd. (NAC), operator of the site, became one of the most successful joint ventures in the portfolio of its founders Mitsubishi and Degussa—today’s Evonik.

The plant in Yokkaichi, which is about 400 kilometers west of Tokyo, initially supplied primarily the local Japanese market but has gradually grown into a supplier for the entire region. Today, Yokkaichi comprises not only the largest and most tradition-steeped production facility for fumed silica in Japan, but in all of Asia. At the same time, it is also the second-largest production site for AEROSIL® at Evonik Industries. In addition to production, Yokkaichi is also a regional center for R&D and technical service for fumed silica.

Currently about 180 workers are employed in AEROSIL® production in Yokkaichi. More than 50 different products are manufactured here, including products for applications in silicon, adhesives, paints and coatings, plastics, and toners. “Our many years of development and production experience help us meet our customers' increasing standards for product quality and requirements for new product types," says Michael Doludda, President Nippon Aerosil Co. Ltd. in Yokkaichi. “This is our strength, which is the foundation of our strong growth here."

Part of this strength involves benefiting our customers and adapting products to meet their needs, which is always our top priority. Our “invented to improve” slogan makes clear who represents the chicken in this region and who the egg is. While more and more competitors continue to flood the Asian market with cheap products, the inventor of fumed silica has maintained a presence there for decades and continues to guarantee lasting quality. For a company with more than 65 years of experience in fumed silica, this is not surprising.

Without doubt, part of the Evonik success story is based on the company’s strategy of continuously improving both products and the technology behind them. The AEROSIL trademark not only stands for a versatile product but encompasses a whole package of services that our customers can profit from: for example teams of R&D experts ensure products and their applications continue to evolve. Over 100 field sales offices in 95 countries around the globe ensure close customer proximity and service. Globally active professionals work with Degussa customers to develop application and management solutions. Outstanding logistics ensures on-time delivery and creative packaging design solves handling problems from the outset. Technical customer service is available to AEROSIL users in all regions of the world. The long-term AEROSIL distribution policy of Evonik, in connection with a global network of production sites, offers users in practically all parts of the world high delivery reliability and therefore, planning predictability.

Close contact with customers, industries, and markets that use AEROSIL products also makes it possible to continually develop new, innovative products for existing applications and new applications for existing products—perpetually breathing new life into the slogan “invented to improve.”