Gunze Growing its Medical Business With Construction of Third Japanese Facility

Gunze Limited is building its third medical plant and expanding its R&D laboratory in Ayabe, Kyoto, (Japan), where the company was founded. Targeted for completion in February 2025, the new plant aims to increase production of “TENALEAF,” an absorbable adhesive barrier sheet used in surgery, for which demand is growing, and to secure an efficient production system.

The 3.5 billion yen investment will accelerate growth of Gunze’s medical business. The third plant is scheduled to open more than a quarter century after the company’s first Ayabe medical facility began operations and nine years after the second plant was established. The expansion of the first plant is underway and will be completed in March 2025. Construction of the R&D laboratory is slated to start in April 2025 and be ready for working staff in September that year.

The main purposes of expanding the medical R&D facility are to strengthen Gunze’s development capabilities of next-generation products and efficient mass production, as well as improving efficiency, creativity, and comfort within the working environment via an open office where employees can freely and closely interact with others.

The new third plant will achieve an B+ (or higher) environmental performance rating under the Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (*CASBEE) certification. CASBEE is designed to reduce CO₂ emissions through the use of high-efficiency air conditioning and solar power generation. Gunze promotes company-wide activities to reduce the environmental impact of its business activities, strive for environmentally friendly management, and contribute to the development of the local community by revitalizing the economy and creating new employment opportunities in Kyoto.

*CASBEE is a method for evaluating and rating the environmental performance of buildings and the built environment. CASBEE was developed by a research committee established in 2001 through the collaboration of academia, industry and national and local governments, which established the Japan Sustainable Building Consortium under the auspice of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan.

Gunze, founded in Kyoto in 1896, develops and manufactures medical devices, plastic films, engineering plastics, and apparel. Gunze employs more than 5,200 people in 10 countries worldwide. The medical business has had a substantial footprint in more than 35 countries since its 1985 birth. The head office and manufacturing facilities are located in Kyoto and it has subsidiaries in the United States, European Union, China, and Osaka, Japan. By applying innovative fiber and polymer processing technologies, Gunze manufactures medical products focused on bioabsorbable and biocompatible materials such as skin substitutes, tissue reinforcement felts, bone fixation devices, dural substitutes, and suture threads.