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In 1907, Dr. Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian-American, succeeded in commercializing a phenolic resin; he named the product Bakelite, and the name has since become the generic name for phenolic resins.
At the time, it was known that phenol (commonly used as a disinfectant) reacted with formalin to create a new resinous substance, but extracting that substance in a stable, practical form proved to be a challenge. Researchers experimented extensively with different catalysts and with different heating timings, but no-one had found a forming technology for producing the new substance economically—not, that is, until Dr. Baekeland’s compression molding technique overcame the problem.
Bakelite was first manufactured in Japan in 1911. The impetus was efforts by Jokichi Takamine, a chemical scientist and close friend of Baekeland, to procure the Japanese patent rights to Bakelite for the president of a certain pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Takamine is also known for isolating and manufacturing Takadiastase and adrenaline.
This was the time at the beginning of the 20th century when electricity was first being put to practical use powering things like lights and telephones. But for electricity to be used efficiently, an effective insulating material was required, and the newly developed Bakelite proved to be just the thing for telephone mouthpieces and insulators, as well as sockets for electric lights. And so Dr. Baekeland’s invention became a common feature both in homes and industrial facilities alike.
It was not always plain sailing, though, and the history of Bakelite features a number of seemingly insurmountable hurdles. For instance, during World War I, phenol and formalin could not be imported into Japan and production of Bakelite ground to a halt, and a factory was even razed by fire. However, through such efforts as having Japanese technicians learn manufacturing techniques from plants in the U.S. and Canada, and increasing the range of applications for Bakelite, these obstacles were gradually overcome. Indeed, in recognition of the proven capabilities of the Japanese Bakelite operation, Dr. Baekeland provided half the capital for the establishment of a new company in 1932: Nippon Bakelite Co., Ltd. The company’s products were widely recognized for their excellence, and the company increased its lineup, expanded its markets, and grew to produce some 80% of the entire national production of synthetic resins. |
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Production of phenolic resin laminates
In 1927, three technicians who had undergone training at a Bakelite company in Canada began the domestic production of phenolic resin laminates in Japan. Radio broadcasts began in 1925, and laminates later began to attract attention for their use as parts in radios. |
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