Corporate History

｜1887 to 1950s｜1960s｜1970s｜1980s｜1990s｜2000s｜

1970s

1970

Kao (Hong Kong) Ltd. is established.

Sinor-Kao S.A. (Spain) is established.

1971

Nivea-Kao Co., Ltd. is established as a joint venture with Beiersdorf AG (West Germany).

Kao Life Science Laboratory is founded to carry on and expand on the functions of Kao Housework Science Laboratory.

1973

Kao (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is established.

1974

Kao-Quaker Co., Ltd. is established as a joint venture with Quaker Oats Company (U.S.) to manufacture and sell furan resin for use with casting sand. (The new company becomes a wholly owned Kao subsidiary in 1997.)

1975

Quimi-Kao, S.A. de C.V. (Mexico) is established.

Kitt Siam (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is established. (The company is renamed Kao Commercial (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in 1991.)

1977

Pilipinas Kao, Incorporated (Philippines) is established.

P.T. Pole Kao Indonesia Chemicals is established. (The company is renamed PT. Kao Indonesia Chemicals in 1996.)

Kao acquires Molins Y Puigarnau S.A. (Spain). (The company is renamed Molins-Kao S.A. in 1979.)

1978

Ehime Sanitary Products Co., Ltd. is established.

1979

Guhl Kosmetik is established in West Germany as a joint venture with Beiersdorf AG. (The company is renamed Guhl Ikebana GmbH in 1986.) The company develops its hair care business in Europe.

1980s

1985

Kao Soap Co., Ltd. is renamed Kao Corporation to reflect the increasingly broad scope of its businesses.
(The English corporate name is changed in 1982.)

Kao acquires a stake in P.T. Dino Indonesia Industrial Ltd. (The company is renamed PT Kao Indonesia in 1997.)

1986

Kao launches the Total Cost Reduction (TCR) program to effect a companywide, top-to-bottom review of organizational operations and workflow.

1987

Kao acquires High Point Chemical Corporation (U.S.). (The company is reorganized as Kao Chemicals Americas Corporation, High Point Textile Auxiliaries LLC, and Kao Specialties Americas LLC in 1999.)

Sinor-Kao S.A. and Molins-Kao S.A. merge to form Kao Corporation S.A. (Spain).

1988

Kao acquires the Andrew Jergens Company (U.S.).
(The company is renamed Kao Brands Company*1 in 2004.)

Fatty Chemical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is established.

1989

Kao acquires Goldwell AG (West Germany). (The company is renamed KPSS-Kao Professional Salon Services GmbH*2 in 2003.)

1990s

1991

Kao Oleochemical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is established.

1992

Kao (Australia) Marketing Pty. Ltd. is established.

Kao acquires Chemische Fabrik Chem-Y GmbH (Germany). (The company is renamed Kao Chemicals GmbH in 1996.)

1993

Kao Corporation Shanghai is established.

1995

Kao adopts the Kao Management Principles as its corporate philosophy.

Kao Chemical Corporation Shanghai is established.

1996

Kao Vietnam Co., Ltd. is established.

1999

Kao Hanbai Co., Ltd. is established following the merger of nine regional Hansha, or sales companies specializing in the wholesaling of Kao products. (The company becomes a 100% subsidiary in 2004, and merges with Kao Cosmetics Sales Co., Ltd. in 2007 which is renamed Kao Customer Marketing Co., Ltd.)

Kao Chemicals Europe, S.L. (Spain) is established.

2000s

2000

Kao Consumer Products (Southeast Asia) Co., Ltd. is established in Thailand.

2002

Kao acquires John Frieda Professional Hair Care, Inc., a premium hair care product manufacturer with bases in the U.S. and U.K. (The company is merged into Kao Brands Company*1 in 2004.)

Kao (China) Holding Co., Ltd. is established in China.

2004

The Kao Management Principles are revised and adopted as the Kao Way, a statement of the Kao Group's corporate philosophy.

2005

Kao acquires Molton Brown Ltd. (U.K.).

2006

The Kao Group acquires Kanebo Cosmetics Inc.

The Kao (China) Research and Development Center Co., Ltd. is established in China.

In the Philippines, a new fatty alcohol plant is built at Pilipinas Kao, Incorporated.

2009

Kao announces the Kao Environmental Statement and unveils a new corporate identity.

Kao acquires a premium hair care products factory in Germany through Kao Corporation GmbH.

2011

Kao Corporation (Hefei), second production facility in China after Shanghai, is established.

2012

Global Business Harmonization of Beauty Care in the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions begins. (*1 Merged into newly founded Kao USA Inc. *2 Merged into newly founded Kao Germany GmbH)

PT. Kao Indonesia Chemicals builds a new manufacturing plant.