Taiyo Koko: rare metals
recovered and refined.
Taiyo Koko Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer founded in 1949 in Hyogo Prefecture. It refines molybdenum and vanadium into materials for steel, superalloys and catalysts, and since 1978 it has recovered those metals from spent refinery catalyst. Its first plant outside Japan is being built in Gebeng, Pahang, with operations planned for 2027.
- Founded
- 1949, Hyogo, Japan
- Head office
- Kobe, Hyogo
- Industrial locations
- 7 published
- Group companies
- 9 listed
- Recovery since
- 1978
Founded, head office, locations and group companies are the company’s own published figures (audited 2026-10-02). Announced figures, including the Malaysian plant, are cited with their sources at the end of this page.
Who is
Taiyo Koko?
Taiyo Koko Co., Ltd. (太陽鉱工株式会社) is a Japanese manufacturer of molybdenum and vanadium products. It was established on 31 March 1949 in Hyogo Prefecture, when the company that mined and roasted molybdenum ore was dissolved and rebuilt under its present name, and it developed Japan’s first zirconium products in the same year.
The business now runs on nine published lines: molybdenum and vanadium extraction and refining, ferroalloys, molybdenum and vanadium chemical products, rare earth and zirconium compounds, ceramic raw materials, solar power generation, real estate leasing, sports facilities and leasing. It lists eight locations and nine group companies, and it publishes a headcount of 180 and capital of JPY 200,000,000.
Two things set the company apart from a commodity metals supplier. The first is a recovery business that has run since 1978, taking molybdenum and vanadium out of spent refinery catalyst and returning them to the steel and alloy supply chain. The second is a first overseas plant, under construction in Gebeng, Pahang, that will apply the same process to spent catalyst from Malaysian refineries.
Company record
- Legal name
- TAIYO KOKO CO., LTD. (太陽鉱工株式会社)
- Founded
- 31 March 1949, Hyogo, Japan
- Head office
- Taiyo Building 8F, 1-1-39 Isobe-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0084, Japan
- Capital
- JPY 200,000,000
- Employees
- 180
- Business lines
- 9 published lines
- Locations
- 8 published, including the Ako Plant and the Ako Research Laboratory
- Group companies
- 9 listed
- President
- Kazufumi Suzuki (President, Taiyo Koko Co., Ltd.)
- Annual output
- about 4,000 tons a year molybdenum, about 2,200 tons a year vanadium
- Recycled share
- 17% of molybdenum, 35% of vanadium
- First overseas plant
- Lot 29132, Gebeng Industrial Estate (GIE), Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, under construction, not yet operating
Legal name, founding, capital, employees, business lines, locations and group companies are taken from the company's own published pages (audited 2026-10-02). Leadership, output and the Malaysian plant are cited from public announcements, listed with their sources at the end of this page.
- 1919Taiyo Soda founded
- 1949TAIYO KOKO founded
- 1952Ferromolybdenum
- 1978Spent catalyst recovery
- 1997High-purity molybdenum trioxide
- 2008Vanadium metal, beam furnace
- 2027Malaysia plant, plannedannounced, not yet operating
What the
company makes.
Molybdenum
Ferromolybdenum production began in 1952, and ammonium molybdate followed in 1954. Mass production of high-purity molybdenum trioxide started in 1997, and ferromolybdenum fine powder equipment came online in 1995. Molybdenum leaves the company as ferroalloy, chemical product or high-purity oxide for steel, superalloy and catalyst makers. Read the molybdenum guide.
Vanadium
Ferrovanadium production began in 1954. Vanadium metal powder followed in 1997, an electron beam furnace for vanadium metal was completed in 2008, and aluminium-vanadium alloy entered mass production in 2011. Vanadium reaches the market as ferrovanadium, metal or alloy, mostly into steel. Read the vanadium guide.
Rare earth, zirconium and ceramics
Rare earth production started in 1943, and the Hosoe Plant opened in 1970 with lanthanum oxide and neodymium oxide. Japan’s first zirconium products were developed in 1949, with full-scale zirconium oxide for capacitors in 1954 and optical-grade oxide from 1960. The Fukui Plant adds molybdenum products and ceramic raw materials. Browse all materials.
Recovery since
1978.
Petroleum refineries use molybdenum and vanadium catalysts to remove sulphur from heavy crude oil. When those catalysts are spent, both metals are still in them. Taiyo Koko completed its rare metal recovery facility for spent catalyst in 1978, and the Ako Plant in Hyogo is still published as the location for that work.
The scale is published too. The company makes about 4,000 tons of molybdenum and 2,200 tons of vanadium a year, and recycled material accounts for 17% of its molybdenum and 35% of its vanadium. The metals recovered through the company’s recycling technology reach a purity of 99.9%, according to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which has financed the company’s overseas expansion.
One number needs its scope attached. The 99.9% figure published by JBIC applies to the metals the company recovers through its own recycling technology. The company’s published pages do not carry per-SKU purity figures, so this page does not state one for any individual product, grade or shipment.
- 01SPENT CATALYSTDesulphurisation catalyst spent by oil refineries, a scheduled waste
- 02SEPARATIONMolybdenum and vanadium are separated from the spent catalyst
- 03PRODUCTSMolybdic acid and vanadium pentoxide, shipped to Japan
- 04REFININGFerromolybdenum, ferrovanadium and high-purity products
- 05RESIDUESReused where possible, otherwise disposed of as scheduled waste
The first plant
outside Japan.
TAIYO KOKO MALAYSIA SDN.BHD. is building a metals from spent catalyst recovery facility on Lot 29132 of the Gebeng Industrial Estate in Kuantan, Pahang. It is the company’s first overseas plant, and the first spent catalyst recovery facility of its kind in Southeast Asia. The plant is under construction and is not yet operating: operations are planned for 2027, targeted for the first quarter.
Malaysia prohibits the export of scheduled industrial waste, so the separation and the recovery have to happen inside the country. Spent catalyst arrives from petrochemical plants in Pengerang, Johor, is separated into molybdenum and vanadium products, and is shipped to Japan for refining into ferroalloys and high-purity materials. Recovered residues are reused where possible, including in cement production.
Kobe Steel took a capital stake in the Malaysian company in December 2025 to secure its own supply of molybdenum and vanadium. The construction contract sits with Toyo Engineering & Construction.
- EPC contract signed
- 27 November 2024
- Groundbreaking
- 18 December 2024
- Loan agreement
- June 2025
- Operations planned
- planned for 2027, targeted for the first quarter
- Initial investment
- more than JPY 10 billion
- Financing
- JPY 9.2 billion, of which up to JPY 3 billion (the JBIC portion)
- Site area
- about 80,000 square metres
- Planned recovery
- about 150 tons a year molybdenum, about 400 tons a year vanadium
- Products
- molybdic acid and vanadium pentoxide, exported to Japan for processing
- Local staff
- about 50 local staff, with several employees seconded from Japan
Locations and
group companies.
Locations
- Head OfficeHead office and administrationTaiyo Building 8F, 1-1-39 Isobe-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0084, Japan
- Tokyo BranchPurchasing and sales, mainly customers in eastern JapanShin-Tokyo Building 3F, 3-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
- Osaka BranchSales, mainly customers in western JapanNippon Seika Building 8F, 2-4-9 Bingo-machi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0051, Japan
- Ako Research LaboratoryResearch and development1603-1 Nakahiro Aza Higashioki, Ako, Hyogo 678-0232, Japan
- Ako PlantRecovery of molybdenum and vanadium from spent catalyst1603-1 Nakahiro Aza Higashioki, Ako, Hyogo 678-0232, Japan
- Fukui PlantManufacture of molybdenum products and ceramic raw materials49-118-3 Yonozu, Mikuni-cho, Sakai, Fukui 913-0036, Japan
- Hosoe PlantManufacture of rare earth products150-2 Hirooka, Hosoe-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-1302, Japan
Seven industrial locations are listed above. The company also publishes a sports division in Fukuoka, which has no part in the materials business and is left out of this register.
Group companies
- Toho Kinzoku Co., Ltd.Manufacture and sale of tungsten, molybdenum and refractory metal productsFounded 1950-02-03
- Nippon Seika Co., Ltd.Fine chemicals, cosmetics, industrial chemicals and real estate leasingFounded 1918-02-12
- Nichirin Co., Ltd.Manufacture, processing and sale of rubber and synthetic resin productsFounded 1914-05-14
- Suzuki Hakka Co., Ltd.Menthol and peppermint oil, camphor and industrial chemicalsFounded 1927-07-04
- Taiyo Building Co., Ltd.Real estate leasingFounded 1989-12-01
- Taiyo Rinsan Co., Ltd.Afforestation and greeningFounded 1964-08-15
- Taiwa Co., Ltd.Non-ferrous metal refining and industrial chemicalsFounded 1972-10-02
- Kokusai Organic Hydride Co., Ltd.Hydrogen business
- TAIYO KOKO MALAYSIA SDN.BHD.Spent catalyst recovery in Gebeng, Pahang (announced, under construction)
Questions people
ask first.
- What is Taiyo Koko?
- Taiyo Koko Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer founded in 1949 in Hyogo Prefecture. It refines molybdenum and vanadium into ferroalloys, chemical products and high-purity materials, and it recovers those metals from spent refinery catalyst at its Ako Plant.
- When was Taiyo Koko founded?
- The business dates from 1919, when Taiyo Soda was established as a subsidiary of the trading company Suzuki & Co. Taiyo Koko Co., Ltd. itself was established on 31 March 1949, and 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding and the 70th anniversary of the company.
- What does Taiyo Koko manufacture?
- Nine business lines are published, with molybdenum and vanadium refining at the core: ferroalloys, molybdenum and vanadium chemical products, rare earth and zirconium compounds, ceramic raw materials, solar power generation, real estate leasing, sports facilities and leasing.
- Does Taiyo Koko recycle spent catalyst?
- Yes. The recovery plant for molybdenum and vanadium from spent catalyst was completed in 1978, and the Ako Plant in Hyogo is still listed as the location for that recovery work. The company makes about 4,000 tons of molybdenum and 2,200 tons of vanadium a year, and recycled material accounts for 17% of its molybdenum and 35% of its vanadium, according to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
- Is Taiyo Koko expanding to Malaysia?
- Yes, and the plant is not yet operating. TAIYO KOKO MALAYSIA SDN.BHD. is building a spent catalyst recovery facility in Gebeng, Pahang, with operations planned for 2027. The full record is on this page, with its sources.
- Where is Taiyo Koko located?
- The head office is the Taiyo Building in Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo. Eight locations are published, including the Ako Plant and Ako Research Laboratory in Hyogo, the Fukui Plant in Fukui, the Hosoe Plant in Shizuoka and the Tokyo and Osaka branches.
- How many people does Taiyo Koko employ?
- The company publishes a headcount of 180 and capital of JPY 200,000,000. The Malaysian plant, which is not yet operating, plans about 50 local staff with several employees seconded from Japan, according to the project announcement.
Where every
claim comes from.
- Company first partyOfficial company profileLegal name, capital, employees, business lines
- Company first partyOfficial company historyMilestones from 1919 to 2019
- Company first partyOfficial facilities listThe eight published locations
- Company first partyOfficial group company listThe nine listed group companies
- Government agencyJBIC Today, September 2026President, annual output, recycled share, recovered purity, plant plans
- Government agencyJBIC environmental review record for the Gebeng projectProject name, site and lot, feedstock, residues
- Government agencyMIDA, December 2024Groundbreaking, EPC contractor, first quarter 2027 target
- Government agencyMIDA, 18 December 2024First spent catalyst recovery facility of its kind in Southeast Asia
- Project partnerToyo Engineering & Construction, December 2024EPC contract of 27 November 2024
- Government agencyJBIC press release, 23 June 2025Loan agreement and financing amounts
- Industry pressYieh Corp, December 2025Kobe Steel capital stake and the product route to Japan
The first four are the company’s own published pages. The rest are announcements by the parties financing, permitting and building the Malaysian project. Where the two kinds of source disagree, the company’s own page is the one this site follows.
Working with
Taiyo Koko.
Material questions, specification questions and quotation requests go to the same place. Tell us the grade, the shape, the quantity and the temperature it has to survive, and the team will tell you what can be made and what cannot.
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