Evolution of manufacturing systems that are not reliant on humans
We are evolving our production facilities into smart factories, aiming to develop manufacturing
systems that do not rely on human intervention. We are currently digitalizing production technology at
five domestic and five overseas sites, making our production systems more efficient and more
sophisticated by leveraging digital technologies including automated condition setup at the start of
production, autopilot control, and robotics.
The manufacturing sector is affected by labor shortages due to Japan’s low birthrate and the loss of
skills as experienced workers retire, which makes harnessing digital technology all the more urgent.
We will expand the use of robotics technologies to automate non-value-adding tasks such as horizontal
traverse movements on production lines. We also plan to further develop autopilot control utilizing
digital data from production equipment and extend its scope of application.
Going forward, we will take these developments further at our sites in Japan as well as gradually
rolling out smart factory systems to US and European production sites acquired through M&As. To
achieve this, we will build a manufacturing system on a global scale, keeping in mind the differences
in cultures and values of different countries.
Development of digital human resources
The key to driving digital transformation is the human resources that will deliver it. To improve the
digital literacy of all our employees, we conduct skills assessments and provide training programs
tailored to each person’s level.
As well as practical training on how to use digital technologies, in-person networking sessions offer
opportunities to share success stories and actively exchange opinions. Case studies are also shared with
all employees to improve the digital literacy of the entire organization. We are supporting employees to
become more self-sufficient in utilizing digital technology in various ways, including individual
consultations and community activities.
These initiatives will boost the development of digitally literate human resources, enabling us to build
a digital transformation system that will provide a competitive advantage.
Building up R&D capability by promoting research transformation (RX)
We are working on RX, the digital transformation of research and development, with the aim of
improving our capability to create materials to solve social issues, by humans and data working in
harmony. This is an important pillar in realizing our vision to be “a company providing dreams for the
future” through creating value with our customers.
As one aspect of RX, we have developed technology to design and propose highly functional materials
that satisfy the properties required without relying on the intuition and experience of researchers.
This technology uses open databases to search for new molecular structures using molecular generation
AI, making it possible to create innovative materials that humans alone would not have come up with.
Taking this further, molecules with high synthetic potential can be identified by combining this
technology with retrosynthetic analysis. This has enabled us to design realistic and practical
high-performance materials that could be used to create new products and solutions. Several new
materials discovered thanks to this technology are currently being verified.
One notable accomplishment is a project to develop next-generation power semiconductor encapsulation materials intended to have a lower environmental impact. Previously, there was a trade-off between thermal conductivity and liquidity when using biobased raw materials, but this was resolved by combining researchers’ knowledge with informatics technology. The paper “Development of High Thermal Conductivity and Insulating Composite Materials Using Bio-Based Raw Materials” was presented at the 73rd Symposium on Network Polymer (sponsored by the Japan Thermosetting Plastics Industry Association) to great acclaim, winning the award for the best presentation.
