Mitsui Chemicals Group's Kulzer Focuses on EMEA and the Americas

Kulzer GmbH (Hanau, Germany; President: Chris HOLDEN), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo: 4183; President & CEO: HASHIMOTO Osamu), is taking its next step with business restructuring to further focus on its priority markets (EMEA^*1 and the Americas), drive more efficient sales growth through digital transformation (DX) and transition to a more capital-efficient organizational structure.^*2

The company has consolidated the production of its core product – “artificial teeth,” which are experiencing growth in the EMEA market – at its facility in Germany, consolidating production previously located spread across China and Germany.

In addition to enhancing production efficiency by leveraging economies of scale, this plan will improve product quality and stable supply by having the location serve as a mother plant. The plan will also accelerate sales expansion and the company’s provision of solutions in its priority markets.

The move follows a 2024 renewal of Kulzer’s management structure, which strengthened the company’s lean management approach. The 2024 renewal also saw Kulzer incorporate customer trend analysis through DX – starting with its key markets of EMEA and the Americas – which has in turn bolstered the company’s ability to efficiently provide solutions to customers and allowed the company to improve its sales capabilities.

Together, these achievements have enhanced operational productivity and agility across Kulzer’s global organizational structure, enabling a 15% reduction in work force within the company’s sales administration division and bringing the cost ratio of this division in line with that of its global competitors. Kulzer will continue to speed up transformation and implement growth policies and improve its overall competitiveness going forward.

These efforts come as Mitsui Chemicals pursues improved profitability in its oral care business, with plans to achieve this both by increasing sales revenue and by reducing costs through organizational strengthening. Mitsui Chemicals aims to leverage polymer science technologies and group-wide collaboration to become a global leader in the field of dental preservation, delivering valuable products and services to patients and professionals around the world.