San Jac, Kaneka hold ribbon cutting and lab naming

PASADENA, Texas — On Friday, May 31, The San Jacinto College Foundation and Kaneka Corporation held a ribbon cutting for the new Kaneka Nondestructive Technology Quality Lab. The event was celebrated with dignitaries from both organizations, including the Kaneka Chairman of the Board Kimikazu Sugawara and President Kazuhiko Fujii, who flew in from Japan.

As part of the ribbon cutting, Kaneka presented the San Jacinto College Foundation with $100,000 to support the sustainability and upkeep of the LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology building, where the Kaneka lab is housed. These funds ensure that the CPET building continue to offer the latest training equipment and technology and most current curricula.

“Kaneka believes in continuous education and the power of learning” said Alvin L. Proctor, president of the Kaneka Foundation. “This is why San Jacinto College is important to us. Kaneka has a 40-year history of supporting our local communities and learning institutions. We are proud to be a supporter of San Jacinto College, and like other companies, we are honored to partner with an innovative college like San Jac, who understands the needs of the students and community.”

“The San Jacinto College Foundation and San Jacinto College are fortunate to have partners such as Kaneka,” said Robert Cage, executive director, San Jacinto College Foundation. “Through these partnerships, San Jac is able to ensure that our graduates are fully prepared for their future career no matter what field they choose to pursue. Our partners work with us to provide our students with the most up-to-date curricula, internship and externship opportunities, training for job placement, such as mock interviews and resume review workshops, and so much more.”

Inspection Technologies is a group of techniques that evaluate the properties of materials, components, structures, or systems without damaging them. The Kaneka NDT Quality Lab is equipped with state-of-the-art computers and inspection equipment, providing students with a hands-on learning experience for their future careers. This specialty is vital to the petrochemical, aerospace, defense, and construction industries. According to the Personnel for Quality and Nondestructive Testing Salary Survey from 2019, the average annual compensation for a full-time NDT Level 1 employee is $74,997.

About Kaneka Corporation
Kaneka Corporation of Osaka, Japan is a $5 billion* producer of chemical products including resins, pharmaceutical intermediaries, food supplements, synthetic fibers, and fine chemicals. Kaneka Corporation was established in 1949. Later, the company diversified into polymers, fermentation, biotechnology and electronics, and other fields. Business activities now span a broad range of markets: synthetic resins, resin products, chemicals, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, electrical raw materials and synthetic fibers. Our 3,300 employees (8,400 including subsidiaries) are meeting our customer needs on all continents; Kaneka has overseas subsidiaries in the United States, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and South Korea.