Sunstar Group

Sunstar is a global conglomerate with origins in Japan going back to 1932. The corporation has two main wings, consumer and industrial. Its main consumer business is the development, manufacturing and sale of oral care products (toothpastes, interdentals, dental rinses and toothbrushes) globally marketed under the GUM brand. It also has a range of health food and beauty products in Japan. Its industrial wing accounts for around 40% of its revenue, and produces chemical formulations for industrial applications (automotive, construction and electronics industries) and motorcycle and automobile parts (sprockets and braking disks).

Sunstar's founder, Kunio Kaneda, established the Kaneda Keitai Shokai Company in Osaka, Japan in 1932 as a seller of rubber glue for bicycles. The introduction of metal tubes for packaging of the rubber glue, and later also toothpaste, formed the basis for the early success of the business. The company has since become the leading oral care business in Japan, expanding over subsequent years to become a global business. The industrial business also has a leading position for several of its products in Japan and other markets. Group sales exceeded one billion United States dollars for the first time in the 1990s, and are now at $1.4 billion US per year.

After having been listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange since 1961, Sunstar undertook a management and employee buyout of all shares in 2007. The ownership of Sunstar Japan and the other group companies of the consumer goods. Business was transferred to Switzerland, and the industrial business to Singapore, in an effort to accelerate globalization.

Sunstar group instituted global awards to recognize outstanding contributions to dental hygiene.