Naoya Uehara joins the Management Board of Kuraray Europe

Naoya Uehara has been appointed to the Management Board of speciality chemicals producer Kuraray Europe GmbH (KEG) in Hattersheim, Germany, as co-managing director, alongside Dr. Matthias Gutweiler.

Naoya Uehara, an expert in finance and controlling, has a good knowledge of the German market: from 2002 until 2008 he headed the Controlling department at KEG. He takes over from Yoshiki Kuroki, who is taking on a new management post in Japan.

Naoya Uehara is the new co-managing director of Kuraray Europe GmbH (KEG), alongside Dr. Matthias Gutweiler. He joins the company from the United States where he held the post of Deputy General Manager and played a key role in the integration of the newly acquired DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions and Vinyls business.

Subsequently, he was Director of Controlling and Business Support in the PVB Division. The Kuraray Group, a global speciality chemicals company headquartered in Japan, has more than 9,000 employees around the world and ranks among the market leaders industrial polymers and synthetic microfibres.

Kuraray Europe GmbH (KEG) was established in 1991 and is based in Hattersheim am Main, Germany. It has 760 employees in Germany and around 100 at six other European sites.



During his career with Kuraray, Naoya Uehara has worked in Japan, the United States and Germany. In Hattersheim, he succeeds Yoshiki Kuroki, who is moving to Okayama, Japan to head a logistics company with close links to Kuraray.

"We would like to thank Yoshiki Kuroki for his commitment to KEG over many years. He has played a key role in our success, especially increasing our market share in the region," says KEG's Managing Director Dr. Matthias Gutweiler.

"We are very well positioned in Europe at present," says Naoya Uehara. "In the year ahead, we want to work together to extend our competitive businesses in Germany and Europe."

A successful 36-year track record at Kuraray 

Naoya Uehara joined Kuraray in 1982, immediately after completing his studies at Osaka University. During his successful 36-year career he has gained an excellent knowledge of the company, its diverse business units and markets, including in Germany. From 2002 to 2008 Naoya Uehara headed the Controlling department at KEG.

From 2009 he worked at Group headquarters in Tokyo, where his responsibilities included financial communication, global business controlling and project planning. He then moved to Wilmington, Delaware, USA, where he held a variety of posts, most recently as Director, Kuraray America Inc. Naoya Uehara's appointment to the Management Board of KEG is the start of a new phase in his successful career in the Kuraray Group, which has taken him around the world over the past 36 years.

Naoya Uehara on his aspirations in his new role: "My personal goal is to use the experience I have gained in my various foreign assignments to drive forward KEG's success in line with Kuraray's global operation and growth."

Naoya Uehara is new co-managing director of Kuraray Europe GmbH alongside Dr. Matthias Gutweiler. The 59 year-old finance and controlling expert has an excellent knowledge of the international markets and Kuraray's market in Germany thanks to his long career in Japan, the USA and Germany.

Source: Kuraray

Yoshiki Kuroki, former co-managing director of Kuraray Europe GmbH, is to head a logistics company in Japan with close links to leading speciality chemicals producer Kuraray.

Source: Kuraray