Company Information
Message from the President
Expanding business in various domains, with key technology of dry coating.
OIKE & Co., Ltd. was founded in 1876. Our original business was the manufacture and sale of gold and silver yarn for embroidery. The turning point came in 1956 with the introduction of vapor deposition machines. That technology completely changed the way we manufactured gold and silver yarn and remains the backbone of today's dry coating process. Meanwhile, the technology of tinting metal to make it appear gold has evolved into today's wet coating process. The foundation of our company's technologies was built around that time.
Based on those unique technologies, we then expanded our business to handle a broader spectrum of decorative materials such as gold and silver yarn, thermal transfer foils, and metallic foil powder. In 1970, we moved into the area of food packaging materials, with utilization of the gas barrier function characteristic of the vapor deposition layer. We also actively pursued research into new technologies, with consistent renovation of our dry coating technology. As a result, we were quick off the mark to introduce new technologies such as sputtering. We made strides in the area of functional materials, and alongside our efforts to create a wide variety of products, we also got into taking on processing tasks requested by clients.
In 1993, in response to market needs, we ventured into the display materials business. In addition to cultivated technology in electronics such as transparent conductive film, non-reflective film, hard coatings, and Cu conductive film, we also refined the technologies we had acquired in producing high-reflection Ag vapor deposition film and transparent gas barrier film used in decorative and packaging materials. Moreover, we combined the technologies we acquired, leading to a steady expansion of business. At the same time, we have responded to new demand for products such as window film, deposited film for molding, and functional transfer film. We are now turning our attention to the environmental and medical fields, using dry coating and wet coating as a stepping stone to venture into yet more areas.
Future efforts will focus on electronics, decorative materials and secondary processing.
Besides further growing our existing business, we set forth three new directions that we want to focus our efforts on for further business expansion.
The first is the area of electronics related to high-speed communication, which is expected to thrive with the spread of 5G networks. While making the most of our technologies accumulated from the past, we plan to focus on three new categories: circuit materials, electrode material for electronic components, and electromagnetic shielding.
The second area is decorative materials, in which our original business took root. Display materials and packaging materials are currently relatively important, but it's in the field of decorative materials that we want to continue to be a pioneer. As a paradigm shift continues apace in the automotive industry in particular, interest is growing in differentiation through decoration, so we would like to make the most of those opportunities.
Finally, we plan to expand business in the area of secondary processing. Our business can be roughly divided into processed film products, secondary-processed products, and commissioned processing service, and we believe secondary processing technology will be the key to differentiation. We are currently pouring effort into Leafpowder, focusing on its potential. By making use of its characteristic scaly shape, we believe we can demonstrate its value not only in decoration and imaging but also in electronics. We anticipate a multitude of uses, such as in functional coatings, and plan to aggressively grow this business.
It has been 140 years since our foundation.
We aim to continue to lead the market.
We are also working to enhance synergy across all our group companies. The OIKE Group is split to separate company according to business field, and then a comprehensive organizational strategy is vital. While the Business Administration, Technology Administration, Production Administration and Management Administration divisions coordinate the group as a whole, the Frontier Center's Research Group and New Business Promotion Group provide support. In June 2019 the OIKE Group reorganized as a holding company, with the Oike Industrial Group and the LePont Group (export trading mainly decorative materials) operating under OIKE Holdings Co., Ltd. The LePont Group promotes global business expansion through the cooperation of LePont International, which is based in Japan, and LePont Europe based in France and Germany.
As in the past, our mission is to supply decorative materials, functional materials, and combinations of both to companies around the world. More than 140 years since our foundation and as a leader in the field of dry coatings, we remain committed to creating products that satisfy our clients and growing our business still further.
We look forward to your continued support.
2019.12.25
President
Hitoshi Oike