Sales of ophthalmic lens materials, for which the Group boasts the largest global market share remained healthy. The Group also launched sales of the next generation eyewear TouchFocus^™, which combines liquid crystal technology with the Group’s lens technology to enable wearers to easily switch between near– and far–sighted lenses at a touch.
In nonwovens, the Group worked to expand production capacity in line with market growth to meet demand for premium disposable diapers, which are gaining popularity in Asia. In addition, the Group launched the nonwoven AIRYFA^™, which is both soft and strong while remaining gentle on skin.
In dental materials, the Group recorded an impairment loss for intangible assets, including goodwill, as a result of revised plans due to decreasing sales in Germany and a delayed launch of digital goods. In response, the Group has worked to strengthen its sales activities and digital goods to expand the market with the aim of sustainably growing its dental materials business.

Market Growth Rate for Key Products

Vision Care	Ophthalmic lens monomers (MR™ series, RAV7™ series)	4%
Nonwovens	SYNTEX™ (High–performance spunbonded nonwoven hygienic materials)	7%

Note:FY2013–2017

Increase/Decrease in Operating Income

¥10.8 billion (+¥0.7 billion year on year)
Volume  +¥2.0 billion

• Stable sales of vision care materials and nonwovens
• Decrease in dental materials

Terms of trade  +¥0.4 billion

Costs  ¥(1.7) billion

• Development costs, etc.

Sales by Product

Sales by Region

Trends in Net Sales and Operating Income

Fiscal 2018 Plan

In vision care, we will continue developing new technologies and products that meet various social needs, including those related to eye health, as well as steadily meeting the growing demand for ophthalmic lens monomers.
In nonwovens, we will continue vigorously addressing the growing needs of the premium disposable diaper market, especially in Asia, and working to expand sales of new products, focusing on AIRYFA^™.
In dental materials, in addition to implementing marketing plans suited to regional characteristics, we will continue enhancing the development of total digital workflow solutions.

Vision Care
A World Leader in Ophthalmic Lens Materials

The Mitsui Chemicals Group offers plastic ophthalmic lens materials ranging from low refractive to high refractive indices. In particular, our MR^™ series of world-leading high refractive lens materials have become the de facto standard for thin and lightweight lens materials.
In addition, Mitsui Chemicals Group’s affiliated company in the U.S., SDC Technologies, Inc., has developed high-quality coating materials for thermoplastic and anti-fog coating that are distributed worldwide.
The Mitsui Chemicals Group aims to provide comprehensive solutions for diverse needs instead of simply providing lens materials for vision correction. We are expanding the potential of lens materials and addressing social needs for health and comfort by leveraging our wavelength control, polarization, and photochromic technologies.

Value Chain

Nonwovens
High-Performance Hygiene Nonwovens with Excellent Flexibility and Stretchability

In East and Southeast Asia, disposable diapers, especially high-quality, high-performance premium disposable diapers made in Japan, are being used by more consumers and have risen in popularity particularly in China. In addition to such basic features as being leakproof, breathable, and unlikely to cause diaper rash, consumers desire high-performance, such as comfort and a snug fit. Developed with the technologies of the Mitsui Chemicals Group, our nonwoven features excellent flexibility and stretchability that satisfies these advanced consumer needs, winning accolades as a result. In fiscal 2018, we further boosted our supply capacity mainly by installing new high-performance nonwoven equipment at two bases in Japan, raising production to 15 Kt per year at Nagoya Works and 6 Kt per year at Sunrex Industry Co., Ltd.
We are fully leveraging our three-pronged Asian production structure in Japan, Thailand, and China to ensure a reliable supply of high-performance nonwovens and constantly expanding our supply capacity to meet growing demand. Moreover, we are developing nonwovens for such new applications as medical products in a bid to maintain and expand our top-level share of the Asian market for high-performance nonwovens.

AIRYFA^™, the High Strength Flexible Nonwoven

AIRYFA^™ is a high-performance nonwoven that is gentle on skin, simultaneously offering softness and strength. By capitalizing on its proprietary polyolefin spinning technology to produce this thin textile with a hollow fiber structure characterized by a superior soft hand and even texture, Mitsui Chemicals has simultaneously realized both softness and strength, a feat that conventional technology cannot achieve.
This is an eco-friendly nonwoven that takes global environmental issues into consideration by reducing the amount of raw materials used in production.

Dental Materials
Accelerating the Rollout of Total Solutions through a Digital Workflow

Subsidiary Sun Medical Co., Ltd. boasts a large share of the market for dental adhesives, a core product line it has been selling for 30 years in Japan. In 2013, the Mitsui Chemicals Group acquired the dental materials business of Heraeus Holdings GmbH. In 2017, our globally recognized dental businesses were united under the Kulzer brand in order to advance international expansion. We are also actively working to respond to digitization. To this end, we pursued joint development with 9DW Corporation and, in April 2018, we acquired a stake in B9Creations, LLC, a manufacturer of 3D printers. We are using the polymer science technologies of Mitsui Chemicals to create revolutionary dental materials and to provide the products and services needed by dentists and dental laboratories.
Nowadays, digitization has spread to the dental materials business. Crowns, bridges and other oral repair items are more often than ever designed and produced using digital tools. The Group is rapidly responding to the trend of digital solutions and expanding its business into new fields related to diagnosis, treatment and prevention in addition to its traditional field of oral restoration.