Ajinomoto
Ajinomoto K. K. (Japanese味の素 株式会社; engl Ajinomoto Co., Inc.. ) is a Japanese company in the food industry that manufactures mainly flavors, spices and oils. His most famous product, monosodium glutamate, is so successful that the word " Ajinomoto ", literally means " essence of taste", in Japan as a generic name is used (similar to " Maggi " ) regardless of manufacturer. Monosodium glutamate is widely used in East Asia for cooking.
History
1908 was the scientist Ikeda Kikunae a method for producing crystalline monosodium glutamate and discovered his taste-enhancing effect ( umami ). Together with the entrepreneur Suzuki Saburosuke he founded a company in 1909 for the industrial production. It was initially Seiyakusho Suzuki, Suzuki Shoten later. 1914, the production was started in a factory in Kawasaki, Suzuki Shoten in 1917 was registered as a public company, began in the same year with the opening of an office in New York 's expansion overseas. After another name change in 1932, the company is, since 1946, Ajinomoto.
In the 1930s, Ajinomoto began with the production of oils, after the Second World War, the company continued its international expansion, particularly in Asian markets. In the 1980s, in particular, began production of amino acids as raw material for the pharmaceutical industry. 1991 Ajinomoto got in at the beverage company Calpis, was fully acquired in 2007.
Range (selection)
Amino acids and amino acid derivatives
- Lysine
- Threonine
- Aspartame
- Tryptophan
- Monosodium glutamate
Enzymes
- Transglutaminase
Source: Annual Report 2006
Subsidiaries
For the Ajinomoto group includes numerous companies in 21 countries, including as Regional Society of Europe, Africa and Russia for Ajinomoto Europe SAS with a total of over 2,000 employees, the German subsidiary Ajinomoto Foods Germany GmbH is one of the based in Hamburg. In Japan, the subsidiary Kunōru Shokuhin KK holds ( English proper name: Knorr Foods Co. Ltd.. ) the rights to the brand Knorr.
Sponsoring
The naming rights of the Tōkyō Stadium, home of the football clubs FC Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy were sold in 2003 for five years to Ajinomoto. During this time the multifunctional stadium was around 50,000 seats Ajinomoto Stadium.