Corporate
Profile

[Company strength]
We have established core technology competencies in the development and application of image analysis devices (moving body detection devices), and especially with regard to bioassay technology. This is a new technological development that was brought about as a result of collaboration between engineering technology and fish. It has become our biggest strength, which has also led to our creating one of the largest toxicity test libraries. We used our moving body detection device in a TV sensor-equipped construction monitoring system. This was later registered in NETIS, which is a new technology information service system operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Our device has realized safety monitoring and labor conservation at various construction sites. We hope to develop many more products by applying this technology. 

[Business description]
Waterworks facilities are required to apply bioassay techniques for toxic substances in raw water. This is a test method applied to service water to detect any toxic substances from the death of fish, and it is stipulated by Article 23 of the Waterworks Law. Visual monitoring is prone to errors in terms of visibility and recognition, so there has been an increasing demand for automatic water quality monitoring devices. Our company has been engaged in manufacturing and selling such automatic water quality monitoring devices. We intend to apply and develop this technology for food and beverage manufacturers to cultivate sales.

[Industry]
Electric machinery and device manufacturing

[Strength of products/technologies]
Our product uses killifish, which are toxicity-sensitive small fish, to automatically monitor water quality 24 hours a day without interruption. It automatically issues an alarm when a behavioral anomaly such as slow movement or death is detected in 20 killifish through image analysis. The behavioral patterns of killifish are digitized, and turned into an algorithm that is used for issuing alarms according to the amount of observed change. This product is designed to have higher accuracy, greater ease of maintenance and space saving properties, a more reasonable price, and a lower false alarm rate than competing products. This is how it retains its competitive advantage, and is due to our original technology and accumulated know-how.

[Representative's message]
I think we have approached most of the waterworks bureaus in Japan. To cultivate markets other than waterworks bureaus, we should look for sales opportunities in private-sector food and beverage plants rather than public waterworks. This is because there is a growing need for high-accuracy monitoring of industrial water used in food and beverage plants. Our marketing findings suggest there are 15,000 food and beverage plants nationwide, where water quality is regularly checked but not monitored because of insufficient regulation. We believe that these plants will be required to install continuous water quality monitoring practices. I anticipate that the demand will also increase in the manufacturing sector. This is because many companies use water in their manufacturing processes, and they need to check industrial effluent before draining it. 

[Company structure for market development/overseas expansion]
Our company already has ongoing dealings with the major water plant and measuring instrument solution companies. However, this business is limited to waterworks bureaus, so our organization needs to make some adjustments to change this situation. We will need to quickly arrange the device configuration and interface to deal with the special specifications given by our customers. Our patent applications are still pending for overseas expansion. We will prepare product catalogs as well as specifications documents and manuals in English afterwards. 

[Market share/Ranking]
We are a manufacturer specialized in bioassay devices, which is a technique for checking service water for toxic substances by the death of fish. We have delivered 175 units so far, which accounts for 40% of the domestic market. Our company is highly valued by customers as a leading manufacturer in the industry. 

[Awards and media coverage]
[Awards]

[Media]
Nihon Suido Shimbun; civil engineering journals; and so on.


[Authorization/Certification]
New Partnerships Program approval (2014).

[Joint research and development]
We have engaged in technical cooperation with major water plant manufacturers, and joint research with other organizations, including Kyushu University.

[Intellectual property]
In patent and patent application (domestic and international) number

[Other sites]
Sapporo, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka

[Main Clients / Business History (domestic)]
Municipal waterworks facilities, food and beverage plants, construction companies, and power companies, such as the following.Asahi Kasei Chemicals; Azbil; Wellthy; Organo; Kataoka Measuring Service; Swing; Mizu Mirai Hiroshima; Metawater; Morinaga Engineering; Nishikawa Keisoku; Nikken; Yasukawa Electric; Yokogawa & Co.; Yokogawa Solution Service; many other companies