■ Major Topics for Kurabo <3106>
1. Expansion in the Semiconductor Manufacturing Field
We have been focusing on expanding semiconductor-related products in the chemical product business and the environmental mechatronics business, and have been growing our performance. In the chemical product business, high-performance resin products (pre-process) and semiconductor manufacturing process films (post-process) have been growing steadily. In the environmental mechatronics business, silicon wafer cleaning equipment (silicon wafer manufacturing process), liquid component concentration meters (pre-process), and chemical supply equipment (silicon wafer manufacturing process) have also been growing well. In addition, in research and development in the semiconductor manufacturing-related field, we have developed a system that measures the liquid on the wafer in the equipment (In-Situ measurement) using our proprietary sensing technology.
* In addition to prototype evaluation by users, we have established a practical development environment in our technology research institute.
Also, looking ahead to further growth in the expanding semiconductor market, we are actively investing in the construction of a new building for the Kumamoto plant (approximately 3.1 billion yen), as well as enhancing the production and development capabilities of high-performance resin products (approximately 0.4 billion yen), and increasing the capacity of silicon wafer cleaning equipment (approximately 0.2 billion yen) for future business expansion.
2. Movement toward the realization of a resource recycling society
We are working to expand sales of products using the upcycling system "Looplus", which converts discarded clothing into new resources, through strengthened collaboration with various companies, major textile production areas, local governments, and other co-creation partners, and results are starting to show in various areas. For example, in collaboration with Japan Airlines <9201> (and two other companies), a project is underway to use "Looplus" to transform blankets used on aircraft into T-shirts, bags, and other products, and they have been released for sale on the JAL official shopping site since April 26, 2024. We are also promoting a project with the SeaHorses Mikawa basketball team (and two others) to upcycle unused fan merchandise into SeaHorses Mikawa merchandise using "Looplus". We are planning to expand overseas in the future, starting with the installation of production lines in Thailand.
(Written by Fisco Guest Analyst Ikuo Shibata)