News
AGC and UBE restructure low-margin material business segments
Saturday, January 3, 2026 at 09:07 PM
Japanese material suppliers AGC and UBE are restructuring their portfolios to phase out low-profit chemical and material segments, shifting focus toward higher-value industrial applications. Meanwhile, Sekisui Chemical is moving toward the commercialization of flexible perovskite solar cells.
Context
AGC and UBE are aggressively restructuring their portfolios to exit low-margin material segments, signaling a decisive shift toward high-value semiconductor and AI supply chain components. UBE will cease production of ammonia, caprolactam, and nylon polymers by March 2027, incurring a 35 billion yen impairment loss to pivot toward polyimide and silicon nitride. Similarly, AGC is exiting its Dragontrail specialty glass business by Q3 2026 to prioritize high-growth areas like EUV mask blanks and CMP slurries, where demand is surging due to global AI infrastructure expansion.
This capital reallocation is complemented by Sekisui Chemical, which is investing 90 billion yen to commercialize flexible perovskite solar cells. By acquiring facilities from Sharp to launch a 100 MW production line by 2027, the company aims for GW-scale output by 2030. These synchronized moves highlight a strategic trend among Japanese material giants to shed volatile commodity exposure in favor of specialized hardware and proprietary technologies essential for next-generation computing and energy.
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