Thank you for supporting Shodex over 50 years

Our wishes in the 50th Anniversary Logo

This year, Shodex is celebrating the 50th anniversary.
The golden number 50 and the embedded Shodex symbol fish silhouette express our determination to continue shining in the analysis field based on our 50-year history.

Celebrate the 50th anniversary

In 1965, we began working on the development of separation technology using our polymer synthesis technology as a foundation. It was to measure molecular weight of our company products. In 1974 we began selling the developed products with our brand name, Shodex. This year, we are celebrating Shodex 50th anniversary. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all stakeholders including our customers, distributors, and people involved for their continued support and patronage over the years.
We will continue striving to develop new products and improve their qualities to support our customers with their analysis. We again thank you for your continued use of Shodex products and support.

About Shodex

Shodex is a globally active brand. Shodex HPLC columns are developed, manufactured, and sold by Resonac group companies. We have sales offices located in Japan, US, Germany, China, Korea, and Singapore.
We, Shodex, is continuously working on developing various HPLC columns to meet our customers’ analytical needs.

Shodex History

• 1965 With the expansion of Showa Denko K.K.'s petrochemical business, development of GPC columns began as a method for analyzing plastics.
• 1974 Obtained the trademark “Shodex” and officially started HPLC business.
• 1990 Birth of "Shodex Fish"
• 1993 Purchased Asahipak business from Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (current Asahi Kasei Corp. )
• 2011 Transferred Shodex Instrument business to Shoko Scientific Co., Ltd. (current Shoko Science Co., Ltd. )
• 2020 Showa Denko K.K. fully acquired Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.
• 2023 Showa Denko K.K. and Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd. (formerly Hitachi Chemical) integrated their businesses and changed their company name to Resonac Corporation.
• 2024 Shodex business 50th anniversary year

Shodex Short Episodes

Column developed was for self-use

In the 1960s, Showa Denko (current Resonac) was actively developing polymers. There was an urgent need of establishing analytical methods for the produced plastics. At the time, GPC columns were extremely expensive and so could not be purchased easily. The team back then thought “Let's develop analytical columns by ourselves, since we have the polymer synthesis technology!”. In 1965, they started working on developing column technology. Although there were a series of failures at the beginning of development, steady research finally bore fruits around 1973, and in-house GPC columns were ready for use. Shodex business started with the purpose of analyzing our own products. Since then, we have developed, manufactured, and sold a wide variety of columns meeting the needs of various separation modes.

Japanese noodle delivery?

At the start of Shodex business, there weren't many orders, and each column were manufactured by hand in a small corner of a laboratory. It's hard to imagine now, but when a customer called to rush them, sometimes they would reply, “I’m making it right now,” as if they were working at a Japanese noodle delivery station (*In Japan at the time, Japanese noodle delivery was more popular than pizza delivery, but you may imagine it as a pizza delivery). It was such an easy-going relaxing time. Shodex started as a small business, but since then we have continued developing new products and expanded our lineups. Shodex products are now used by many customers in various countries including Japan, Asia, America, and Europe.

Shodex Fish

Nowadays, the golden metal fish may easily come to your mind as Shodex symbol. This golden fish first appeared on the front cover of a catalog published in 1990. The origin behind the golden fish is that since HPLC is an analytical technique that uses liquids, it was associated with a fish that lives in a water. The mechanical form of the fish symbolizes the Shodex products, which is supported by advanced technologies, are always swimming smoothly at the cutting edge of the era.