Company watch: Kurita's methodical North American build-out

Kurita Water Industries, Japan's largest water-treatment chemicals company, spent the late 2010s assembling a North American platform: the ~$270 million acquisition of Minnesota-based U.S. Water Services (2019) brought industrial service reach, while the purchase of Avista Technologies added specialty membrane chemicals — a portfolio consolidated under Kurita America from 2020.

The strategy illustrates a broader pattern among Japanese water majors: patient, capability-led M&A abroad while defending deep home-market positions in ultrapure water for semiconductors — a segment where Kurita and Organo remain global references as fab construction accelerates worldwide.