Toray Industries, Inc. (headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Sadayuki Sakakibara; hereinafter referred to as “Toray”) today announced that it won the Investor in France Award from the Invest in France Agency (headquarters: Paris, France; Chairman and CEO: David Appia) for its contributions to France’s economic development through investments in the country.
On October 8, 2009 (Thursday), the sixth annual French-Japanese Investment Awards Ceremony was held at Roppongi Academy Hills. Toray President Sadayuki Sakakibara attended the ceremony and received the award from Mrs. Anne-Marie Idrac, French Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

The French-Japanese Investment Awards honor businesses which made significant contributions to the two countries’ economic progress by making direct investments. The awards, first given in 2004, have been organized by the Invest in France Agency once a year. This year, Toray received the 2009 Investor in France Award given to Japanese companies which contributed through their investments in France.

Toray first made its foray into France in 1982 by establishing Société des Fibres de Carbone S.A. (SOFICAR) for manufacturing and sales of advanced material, PAN carbon fibers. Subsequently, in 1996, the company established Toray Plastics Europe S.A.S. (TPEu) in the country as a base for manufacturing and selling polyester films. Toray Group is the world’s biggest manufacturer of PAN carbon fibers and polyester films and the two France-based companies have been making steady progress as the group’s global strongholds for the products. Moreover, Toray in 2008 newly established Toray Films Europe S.A.S. (TFE) for manufacturing and sales of high-performance polypropylene films. The production facilities are scheduled to start operating in 2010.
Toray currently has about 720 employees at the three France-based group companies and its total investments in these companies reach approximately 800 million euro, making the country the core base within the European Union of the Toray Group which operates in 21 countries and regions around the world. This award is in recognition of these proactive business expansions carried out by Toray in France over the years.

Under its corporate slogan of Innovation by Chemistry, Toray aims to promote the use of innovative advanced materials around the world, and will continue with its efforts to contribute to the development of a sustainable society by providing solutions to environmental and other global issues.

■Acceptance speech by Sadayuki Sakakibara, President, CEO & COO of Toray Industries, Inc.

It’s a great honor for me to receive this Investor in France Award and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the entire Toray Group. France occupies a preeminent position in our global business development plans. We made our initial direct investment in France 27 years ago in 1982, and since then have been steadily expanding our business in the country. We have three companies in France at present: one manufacturing carbon fiber used in lightweight parts for aircraft and automobiles; another producing polyester film for solar panels; and a third one, whose new factory will open next spring, for producing polypropylene films for packaging materials. So far, we have made a total investment of around 800 million euro in France and our three group companies together employ about 720 people. This steady progress over the years made the country a core base of the Toray Group’s global operations. The fact that we were able to win this award in recognition of our track record in the country is a great morale booster for all our employees. We believe that the support and encouragement we have received over the years from the French government, the local staff and other people involved in our operations as well as our customers in the European Union has been instrumental in us winning this award. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone once again. As a comprehensive chemical company, Toray, under its corporate slogan of Innovation by Chemistry, believes that it is our corporate mission to contribute to the development of a sustainable society by offering advanced materials based on innovative technologies. The award will serve as great encouragement for us going forward. At the same time, we hope to promote better Japanese-French relation as well as to contribute to the social and economic development of France by further expanding our advanced materials business in the country. We look forward to your continued support in our endeavors.

Reference

1.	Invest in France Agency (IFA)
	Invest in France Agency (IFA) promotes and facilitates international investment in France. The IFA network operates worldwide. IFA works in partnership with regional development agencies to offer international investors business opportunities and customized services all over France. For more information, please visit： http://www.investinfrance.org/Japan/
2.	The 6th French-Japanese Investment Awards winners
	The 6th Investor in France Awards were presented to Toray and Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. for their investments in France. French winners of the award for investment in Japan were Fives and Eurocopter.