Management Policy
IT society is supported by a variety of industries, but the industry in which Japan is most active is fine chemicals, which supplies functional materials needed for electronic devices.
Our main product, noble metal plating chemicals, is a type of such functional material, and we aim to become a fine chemical company that leads the electronics industry by facing social issues with creative products based on chemistry and armed with scientific theories, and by demonstrating diverse perspectives and original ideas.
Management Strategy, etc.
As an elite, fabless, development-oriented company, we have developed our business by specializing in noble metal plating. We do not have production facilities such as manufacturing plants, etc. We have focused on marketing for new product development, technological development and sales activities to implement such development, and have gained market share by quickly achieving commercialization. Now, 50 years after its establishment, it has become clearer that there are social issues that can be solved by our technology outside of the existing market in the rapidly expanding electronic components industry due to Digital Transformation (DX) technology, etc., driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Therefore, we have formulated our mid- to long-term vision, RDD2030* to solve social issues by capturing needs in new business areas and existing markets while maintaining our own strengths. We aim to evolve into “Japan Pure Chemicals” is recognized not only in existing markets but also in new markets.
*RDD2030 = Redox-innovation through Discovery & Development toward 2030
Click here for the Medium-Term Management Plan
Business Environment
The semiconductor and electronic components market, which is our main base, continues to develop on a global scale, and many of the manufacturers to whom we sell our products are competing with each other in their development capabilities to create new technologies to adapt to this vast market.
As described in the following section 3 Business and Other Risks, the risks surrounding our company include environmental risks such as pandemics and climate change, geopolitical risks such as trade restrictions, conflicts and wars, economic risks such as shortages of critical raw materials and key components, and technological risks such as transportation infrastructure failure. Even in the current uncertain and uncertain business environment, we recognize that there are many social issues to which we can contribute, such as lifestyle changes caused by new viruses, energy shifts associated with decarbonization and resource conservation, and rapid increases in data transmission volume and capacity, and that there are megatrends that will not change. In the medium- to long-term, we believe that business opportunities that take advantage of our originality and intellectual property will continue to expand toward a future society in which people lead affluent and happy lives, including harmony with AI and robots, smart cities, space development, and health-technology.
Issues to Be Addressed and Countermeasures
Strengthen Sales Capabilities
With the expansion of investment in digital transformation and green transformation, as well as the shift to EVs and electrification of automobiles, demand in the electronics field, particularly for data centers, high-speed and large-capacity communications, generated AI and AI-equipped devices, and power devices, is expanding significantly. In this trend, needs for semiconductors and various other high-end electronic components are increasing, and high-performance, high-quality plating chemicals that are indispensable for the manufacture of these components are required.
We believe that it is important for the future development of our business to promote the timely provision of products to major customers in Japan and overseas in these growing fields, as well as to make aggressive marketing and technical proposals, including proposals for environmentally friendly products such as resource-saving processes, and proposals for performance improvement in the entire process. To this end, we will not only develop our own products but also establish cooperative systems with surface treatment chemical and equipment manufacturers. In addition, through public relations activities such as presentations at international conferences, participation in technology consortiums, and participation in overseas exhibitions, we will improve our new technology and brand recognition to attract new customers and expand our business.
On the other hand, due to the U.S. trade policy and heightened geopolitical risks, electronic component manufacturers, which are our major customers, are increasingly shifting their production bases from China to other regions such as Southeast Asia. To this end, we are working to expand our global technical support functions. As part of this effort, we are expanding our overseas sales staff through career hires and building a database for sharing technical information and production status to strengthen cooperation with customers, and we will promote the establishment of a support system that proposes advanced solutions both in Japan and overseas.
We will continue to expand our business by further deepening relationships of trust with customers while responding flexibly to the changing market environment.
Strengthening R&D Capabilities
Our competitors include not only the noble metal plating chemicals industry but also the base metal plating chemicals industry. In addition, with the recent progress of globalization, local overseas manufacturers are also emerging, and competition in technological development is becoming even more severe. Under these circumstances, in the noble metal plating field, it is essential to improve our ability to propose processes that can respond to customer requests for timely improvements and to develop new applications, such as for automotive and industrial machinery. In particular, to realize next-generation final surface treatment processes, including nickel-free processes, we need to transform ourselves into a total process company for the plating process, not limiting ourselves to noble metal plating chemicals, but improving the performance of the entire process, including cooperation with niche-top companies in pre- and post-treatment, equipment, and other areas. We need to transform ourselves into a total process company for plating processes.
In addition, we believe it is important to promote development toward completion of carefully selected themes that are technically incomplete in the industry, regardless of whether they are precious or base metals.
Furthermore, we are aiming to create new business areas in addition to existing ones by utilizing our redox technology cultivated through plating. We are developing battery materials under our medium- to long-term vision, “RDD2030.”* Flexible thinking and technological development skills that are not limited to conventional plating are required.
Regarding sustainability, we are a manufacturing company that uses noble metals and rare minerals, and due to the nature of our business, which handles many chemical substances, consideration for the global environment is essential. We recognize the importance of developing products that reduce environmental impact and reducing energy consumption in the plating process to create environmentally friendly products.
Under these circumstances, to compete with competing chemical manufacturers that have several times the technological capacity of our company, it is necessary to develop a technological team with unique ideas and a broad perspective. By recruiting and training Proactive and Self-leadership personnel, we will raise the level of our technical team and strengthen our development capabilities. At the same time, we will seek optimal external collaboration and cooperation to efficiently develop technologies and strengthen our total solution capabilities, which would be difficult for us to do on our own.
*RDD2030 = Redox-innovation through Discovery & Development toward 2030
Key Management Indicators for Assessing Progress toward Targets
Driven by strong demand related to generative AI and a gradual recovery in smartphone applications, operating profit rose by ¥148 million year on year to ¥502 million. This was achieved despite a slowdown in automotive applications in the second half and continued weakness in the industrial machinery market.
In addition, progress in the sale of specified investment shares increased profit for the period by ¥1,031 million year on year to ¥1,579 million. As a result, ROE for the fiscal year ended March 2025 improved significantly by 7.4 percentage points to 11.3%.