Corporate
Profile

[Company strength]
We run a family business with five of the six employees, including the president, are in that family, and each person plays multiple roles. Our strength is unity which has been tested through many difficulties so far. Our commissioned work belongs to the research and manufacture categories in universities, government and municipal offices and private companies. We planning, design and manufacture are dealt with in-house after receiving high-level specification requests. We also deal internally with mechanisms, electricity and software, and therefore we have the advantage of responding to special orders with speed. Another of our strengths is any one of our staff can immediately give technical advice to any requests we receive. We handle work in a short period with our small group of staff that major companies would work on using large groups. We can therefore deal with matters that are from a small market size which major companies would not usually engage.

[Business description]
Custom-design of ion guns; production: electron bombardment type ion guns, cold-cathode ion guns, speed reduction type low-energy ion guns and RF ion guns
Custom-design of electron guns; production: low-speed electron guns, pulse-beam electron guns, electron guns for analysis, and La B6 type electron guns
Production and sales of optional products related to the above items as well as design and manufacture of beam profile monitors and system products


[Industry]
Manufacture of physical and chemical equipment

[Strength of products/technologies]
Our expertise lies more with high purveyance, large electric current electron guns and ion guns for semiconductor exposure/etching than minute electric current type for electron microscopes/analysis. Our strength is speedy development and manufacturing with our 22 year proven track record of development of customized products using a beam-designing know-how and design database, self-designed manufacturing devices and jigs and inspection devices such as a self-manufactured beam profile monitors. We develop ion guns for ion beam figuring for use in nano scale processing of optical elements for semiconductor exposure devices and deliver them to major optical instrument manufacturers in a short time period.  

[Representative's message]
The recent drop in the strength of the Yen has meant we have had to deal with higher competition from overseas products. Therefore, we have introduced actions to improve performance and measures against the strong yen rates. We are now appreciated because of such reasonable price-setting that customers (researches at Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) are concerned for our future. We recently received a compliment from one of our major customers that we are “an essential company due to our manufacturing from scratch and low prices”.

[Company structure for market development/overseas expansion]
Our proven track record of overseas sales to date is as follows: A US-based trading company examined overseas sales of our products, mediated by a Japanese trading company based in China, five years ago. This was withdrawn because the company could not afford our high prices at the time due to a strong yen. We, immediately redesigned for reduction of internal costs and prime costs, and commercialized a new ion gun. Our products became more competitive than overseas products partly due to encouraging factors such as the recent weak yen. We can respond to similar inquiries from trading companies again, with this commodity power.  



[Market share/Ranking]
We are not aware of any company that manufactures affordable industrial-quality ion guns or electron guns. As a company receiving special orders for this equipment, we pride ourselves as being the leaders in a niche market.

[Awards and media coverage]
[Awards]
Selected as one of “300 of Japan’s Vibrant Monozukuri (Manufacturing) SMEs 2009” of Small and Medium Enterprise Agency

[Media]
Nikkei Top Leader, July 2010: Article titled “Secret of Growth of Small Companies” 


[Main Clients / Business History (domestic)]
Canon Inc.: Ion guns for ion-beam figuring, for use in nano-scale processing of optical elements for semiconductor exposure devicesNikon Corporation: Ion guns for ion-beam figuring for optical elementsMajor electric machinery manufacturers: Electron guns for research and development of particle beam irradiation therapy devices, ion guns, precision magnetic field measurement systems Major manufacturers related to semiconductors: Electron guns for electron beam exposureATSUMITEC CO., LTD: Ion guns for development of hydrogen storage alloys

[Main Clients / Business History (overseas)]
Beijing University of Chemical Technology in China: Cathodoluminescent electron guns for fluorescent substance inspection; Korean Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) in South Korea: Electron guns for analysis; Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in China: Electron guns for basic research of water clusters