The Chemicals Business Div. produces vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), a primary feedstock to Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), being made by Shin Dai-ichi Vinyl Corporation, a Tokuyama Group company. Polyvinyl chloride is softened or hardened to suit any processing need. Applications for soft polyvinyl chloride include electrical wiring insulation and film sheets, while those for hard polyvinyl chloride include waterworks piping, building materials and other fields, thus playing an essential role in our daily lives.

VCM is produced by reacting chlorine from electrolysis plant with ethylene derived from petroleum. Petroleum makes up 40% of the total materials used to make VCM-PVC, while chlorine accounts for 60%. A unique point of VCM-PVC is that it is relatively less dependent on petroleum, while many of other plastics are almost 100% petroleum dependent. From the perspective of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, VCM is considered to help contribute to resource conservation. In addition, PVC window sashes excel in thermal insulation of housing, which in turn will contribute to prevention of the global warming.