Manufacturing Magazine February 2018 | Page 47

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Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings www . mitsubishichem-hd . co . jp / english The brand is best known for its sleek and inexpensive cars , but the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings company is just

as formidable in petrochemicals . Specialising in polyolefins , Mitsubishi Chemicals produces polyethylene , purified terephthalic acid , polypropylene and polycarbonate . The company is by far the number one producer in Japan . Around the world , its subsidiaries Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma and Mitsubishi Plastics help to expand company operations internationally . The latest numbers on Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings show a revenue stream of $ 22.8bn . In total , the company employs just over 54,000 people under all of its various umbrellas .

DuPont www . dupont . com It is hard to believe that DuPont – which today employs 52,000 people – was originally founded as a gunpowder mill . Today , it stands as one of the most evenly diversified companies on this list . DuPont chemical products include Tedlar , Vespel , Zytel , Nomex , Nylon , Orlon , Sorona , Corian , Kevlar , Kalrez , Mylar , Kapton and Zodiaq . It is perhaps best well known for the development of the polymer known as Teflon and the refrigerant Freon . However , it also develops Lycra , M5 fiber , Zemdrain and Tyvek polymers . The company hit a 2016 revenue of $ 25.268bn and employs over 52,000 people . 03

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