in november 1999, tokyo chemical industry co., ltd. (previously tokyo kasei kogyo co., ltd.), one of the major manufacturers of laboratory chemicals in japan, established the european corporation named tci europe nv. it is the second overseas operation centre established by tokyo chemical industry, the first being in the united states. the new distribution facility was built just outside of antwerp in belgium. it is approximately 10,000 square meters including more than 3,000 square meters of warehouse space. it is the first time that a japanese supplier of laboratory chemicals established a full-scale operation facility in europe. tokyo chemical industry had been meeting the needs of european customers for decades from its japan facilities. however, because the speed of research and development was increasing, there was a greater need for the prompt supply of laboratory chemicals. by establishing the distribution centre in belgium, tokyo chemical industry is able to meet european customers’ needs more quickly with lower delivery cost. tokyo chemical industry has more than a fifty-year history as a manufacturer of laboratory chemicals. it handles more than 18,000 chemicals mainly organic, which are widely used from university laboratories to corporate research facilities. tokyo chemical industry is well known for its unique product line. in fact, there are over 3,000 original products, which are only manufactured by tokyo chemical industry. with the new facility in belgium, a full-scale global supply system of the tci group is established and makes the high quality chemicals more readily available for the research chemists throughout the world.