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Corporate Symbol
The corporate logo used for Toray Industries, Inc. was first designed in 1986 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our founding. This symbol represents Toray as a corporation, the Toray employees, the Toray facilities and assets, Toray products, and the Toray message. The characteristic single quotation marks symbolize Toray's enthusiastic attitude toward dialogue. We strongly value communication among Toray employees and with those outside the company, and we desire to be a leading presence in society. The logo has symbolized Toray for more than 30 years, since it was first adopted to the present day. Called Toray blue, the symbol is a deep, chic shade of blue that signifies an intellectual refinement and precision, as well as a refined sense of fashion. This shade is also referred to as “intelligent blue.”
Transformation of the Corporate Symbol
The Toray corporate symbol has been altered three times. Its evolution is outlined below.
1926-1963
No victory without unity
Toyo Rayon Co., Ltd. was founded in 1926 as a producer of viscose rayon. The design of the corporate logo used at the time was three interlocking rings placed inside a double circle, symbolized the opportunities given by heaven, the advantages of the land, and the harmony between human beings. It also represented the formation of the four letters of TOYO. Faced with the Great Depression and downturns in the fibers and textiles market soon after its founding, as well as post-WWII confusion, Toyo Rayon overcame many hardships. However, as the Japanese economy recovered and developed a period of strong growth in 1950s and 1960s, Toray expanded into a comprehensive manufacturer of synthetic fibers.
1963-1969
Bobbin style logo
After World War II, abbreviated versions of the name Toyo Rayon Co., Ltd. had become common. After considering Tore and Toray as possible English spellings, Toray was eventually chosen as the official abbreviation. The corporate logo was redesigned, and both internal and external stakeholders favored a logo designed as a bobbin.
1970-1986
Global Toray
On January 1, 1970, Toyo Rayon Co., Ltd. was officially renamed Toray Industries, Inc. The company's operations had, however, outgrown the name Toyo Rayon long before. At the time, Toray was evolving from a general manufacturer of synthetic fibers into a comprehensive chemical company operating in a wide array of chemistry-oriented sectors, including plastics, fine chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. To further internationalize our business operations, it was important to move beyond "Toray of the Orient" into a global Toray, and we took on a new corporate name and symbol to make these intentions clear.
1986-
Communicating with society at large to ensure mutual growth
In 1986, Toray marked the 60th anniversary of its founding. Sixty years of production is a significant benchmark, and we used this occasion to introduce a company-wide "New Foundation Campaign" to guide Toray renewal. Following the Plaza Accord signed in September 1985, the exchange rate for the Japanese yen soared, and this was a period of major change not only for the fibers and textiles industry, but also for the structure of Japanese industry as a whole. Toray focused on restructuring its business operations and strengthening its corporate structure, as well as on expanding globally as a corporate group, by enhancing operations in the overseas production sites that had been pursued since the 1960s. The "New Foundation Campaign" was primarily centered on reforming employee awareness, and a new corporate symbol was adopted as part of our new Corporate Identity (CI) Project. The design, created by Colin Forbes, the founder of the US design company Pentagram, was chosen for its originality and the "intelligent blue" color. The quotation marks are used as they are in English sentences to indicate dialogue and prominence. The symbol was designed to express the Toray Group commitment to always communicate with society at large and ensure mutual growth. It also expresses the group's ambition to be a prominent presence in the 21st century.
To mark the 80th anniversary of its founding in 2006, Toray chose "Innovation by Chemistry" as the new corporate slogan to accompany the corporate symbol.