Research & Development
About the Noritake Group
Technologies of Our Strength
● Fusion Technologies for Fine-particle: Techniques to fusion metal or ceramic fine-particle from the size of nanometer to micron
● Coating Technologies for Fine-particle: Coating technologies to improve the quality and the functionality of the metal and ceramic fine-particle
● Dispersion Technologies: Monodispersion technologies for micro-granules such as those made of metals or ceramics
● Forming Technologies: Techniques to form various ceramics parts with less cost and with greater stability
● Technologies for Porous Materials: Core technologies for porous ceramics materials, such as grinding wheels
● Fusion Technologies: Low-melting point glass technology for joining materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion, such as between dissimilar materials
● Environment-friendly Decorative Material Technologies: Pigments, enamels, and paints that shine with brilliant color and are kind to the environment
● Printing and Decorative Technologies: Screen printing, decorative and circuit printing for industrial inkjet printing
Basic approach
The roots of Noritake technologies date back to our foundation; the development of techniques for manufacturing tableware. Our passion for "creating beautiful, white, delicate ceramics" at that time has been passed down in different forms from generation to generation, and the Noritake group has introduced the new technologies and products that bring out the diverse characteristics of ceramics to the world. In the 12th Three-year Business Plan, which began in FY2022, we formulated a Long-term Vision for 2030 (ideal target) "to become a driving force essencial for today's changing society with our unique material and process technologies." Our research and development activities are also in the midst of major changes. Going forward, the entire company, led by the New Business Creation Committee, will be working as one to create new technologies and new products for further growth.
Research and Development System
Until today, the Research & Development Center was in charge of all development processes at Noritake, from planning to development and mass production. However, the new business creation taskforce established in FY2022 enabled a company-wide approach to reduce the time to bring products to market. The New Business Creation Committee took over the activities and functions of the new business creation taskforce from FY2023. This committee aims to create new businesses together with business groups, group companies, and others, in cooperation with other committees. In the future, the Research & Development Center and Intellectual Property Office will collaborate together with the Corporate Planning Office to plan development themes. The New Business Creation Committee will lead company-wide initiatives such as calling on proposals from all employees.
To achieve commercialization, we will strengthen cooperation with business groups and Production Engineering Center to build a system that can lead to more results in a shorter period of time.
Specific initiatives
【Planning】
In FY2022, we received many applications from our employees when we sent out a call for new development themes. Members of the New Business Creation Committee conduct a Gate 1 examination and are now proceeding to a Gate 2 examination. In addition, in anticipation of collaboration and M&A with outside parties, we have selected companies that are expected to lead the future. Among these companies, the Committee for the Creation of New Businesses is planning to further narrow down and negotiate with them. At the same time, each development group is focusing on development of core technologies to make way for the future.
【Commercialization】
Development of products and core technologies that the Research & Development Center had been conducting previously had only small-scale sales after commercialization. In order to create even larger scale of businesses in the future, it will be necessary to take a variety of measures at the same time, such as expanding applications of existing technologies, restructuring businesses, M&As, and partnerships. For this reason, members were assigned to each growth area rather than to each product or business group, and the organization was reorganized into a cross-divisional organization of people and technologies.
In addition, engineers from the Research & Development Center and the personnel from Intellectual Property Office were assigned to each business group to create a structure that enables daily cooperation.
MESSAGE
Building Various Experiences, Expanding Our Vision, and Creating New Businesses
Our major challenge in research and development was that, for a long period of time, the development themes we worked on could not make contribution to our business. To overcome this situation, during the 12th Three-year Business Plan that began on FY2022, the new business creation taskforce called for development themes from throughout the company while also revising the development process and strengthening collaboration with business groups. From this fiscal year, the New Business Creation Committee further promotes company-wide activities by collaborating with the research and development departments and business groups. The New Business Creation Committee and Research & Development Center are working together to prepare for the creation of new businesses and products.
We are also working to reform the awareness of our research and development divisions. I feel that all employees involved in research and development have excellent knowledge, sincerity, and great potential. However, we were not able to fully exercise our abilities and knowledge since we were constrained by the organizational framework and the cooperation between teams was weak. As for the first step, we are working to change the form of meetings so that we can exchange opinions more actively and create an open atmosphere for more discussions.
In order to make our current business even larger and to create new ideas, it is essential to develop human resources who can engage with people around, broaden their horizons, and take on challenges without fear of failure. I would like each and every employee to make the most of their individual qualities while expanding their world though experiences in business groups and collaboration with people outside the company. These efforts will help them broadening their perspectives and enhance their capabilities, and I believe this will lead to the growth of the company.
