Taking on the challenge of research and development of "new materials" through joint industry-academia projects 　The article of "Atsushi Okuno, President and Representative Director of Sanko Co. January 22, 2012

On January 22, 2025, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Consultation Center for New Business Location conducted an interview with Atsushi Okuno, President and Representative Director of Sanko Co. The interview was published on January 22, 2025 on the website of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Corporate Location Consultation Center.

Atsushi Okuno, President and Representative Director

A manufacturing company that responds to customer needs with an integrated system of development, manufacturing, and maintenance

Sanko Corporation is headquartered near Hamamatsucho Station in central Tokyo. While steadily expanding its business performance by manufacturing parts for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and precision machinery products, the company has also been actively involved in industry-academia collaborations in recent years.

We interviewed Mr. Atsushi Okuno, President and Representative Director, about the company's business, joint projects with universities, and future prospects.

Transformed from a trading company to a manufacturing company. Expanding business on the strength of small-lot, high-variety products and quick delivery

Sanko was founded in 1969 in Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo. It has been about 20 years since the head office was moved to Hamamatsucho. We first asked about the nature of their business.

Sanko started out as a trading company dealing in carbon and ceramics. We used to be a distributor for Japanese carbon manufacturers, but about 20 years ago, we started manufacturing our own products. Thirty years ago, 90% of our sales came from the trading company division, but in recent years, 70% of our sales have come from the manufacturing division.

Currently, the company's core businesses are carbon graphite products, ceramics products, and precision machinery products.

Carbon graphite and ceramics, our main products, are used in the heating process of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Precision machinery products are also used in equipment and units for semiconductor manufacturing. We originally sold insulation materials and crucibles as consumables to our customers, but we have expanded the scope of our business by determining the aging of equipment based on the usage status of the consumables and proposing that we can renew the equipment when it becomes obsolete. Also, while major manufacturers specialize in mass production, we provide a wide variety of products in small quantities with short delivery times. We believe this is our strength.

The company's business performance has been solid against the backdrop of rising demand for semiconductors. The company has a development center in Toyama, its main manufacturing base, with branch offices in Nagoya and Sendai, and group companies in Kumamoto, Korea, and elsewhere.

The Toyama R&D Center is equipped with a clean room, which is essential for the manufacture of semiconductor-related products. In addition, we had two plants in Toyama before, but since the space for assembling semiconductor manufacturing equipment had become too cramped, we made an M&A deal in 2022 to secure space to meet future growth in demand."

Carbon graphite products manufactured by Sanko. Sanko's strength lies in its ability to manufacture one-of-a-kind products, which is difficult for major manufacturers to handle.

Sanko's experts perform elaborate design work. Sanko can design not only products that meet customer needs, but also products developed in-house and products developed by suppliers on an outsourced basis.

We have a clean room (class 1000) in our development center in Toyama, and can handle products related to semiconductors, medical products, etc.

Taking on the challenge of research and development of "materials" by utilizing our academic network

The company is also active in joint industry-academia research with universities and the establishment of venture companies through joint investment. We asked the company about its efforts in this area.

In the field of university research and new product development, a wide variety of products are gradually being demanded. Our strength lies in our ability to respond to such needs, and our network through product supply leads to collaboration with researchers and universities. One of the areas we are focusing on is research and development related to new materials. We believe that the materials field has great influence because it is "upstream" of manufacturing and has unlimited potential.

In the field of materials, a joint project with Nagoya University and Tohoku University is currently underway.

In collaboration with Nagoya University, we have established a company called U-MAP. We are developing a new material called aluminum nitride, which combines high thermal conductivity and insulation properties to solve the thermal problems of electronic devices. It can be used to reduce the weight of mobile devices and electric vehicles, and efforts to improve the cooling efficiency of semiconductor devices used to control motors in electric vehicles are almost ready for mass production. We have also established a company called EXA with Tohoku University to develop equipment for growing scintillators, which are crystals that glow when irradiated with radiation. These crystals have applications in radiation detection and medical equipment, and are a highly promising field.

The company's research and development is not limited to the field of materials, but is also taking on the challenge of DXing the manufacturing industry.

We are participating in a development project with a venture company from Nagoya University and Kyoto University to realize automated operation of crystal growing furnaces. The work being done manually by skilled operators is difficult to take over due to a shortage of labor and an aging workforce. Our goal is to enable efficient manufacturing by automating the process through the use of AI.

Crystal growing furnace. One of Sanko's main precision machinery products.

Advantages of the Tokyo Location: Favorable Environment and Systems for Taking on Challenges

Finally, we asked Sanko about the advantages of Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, where the company is headquartered. The first thing that comes to mind is the easy access to transportation.

In the heart of the city, there are many events such as Tokyo Big Sight and other exhibitions, making it easy to catch up on cutting-edge information. In terms of information gathering, there are many advantages to being located in Minato-ku and Tokyo. Also, "TOKYO" is well known internationally. We feel that we have an advantage in many areas, such as the branding of our Korean group company, Sanko Korea.

Furthermore, he points out that there are many institutional benefits to being "located in Tokyo.

The company offers a wide variety of backups, such as subsidies for joint development with universities, making it easy for us to take on new challenges. In terms of benefits, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government offers incentives to companies that encourage male employees to take childcare leave, and there is a good environment for childcare support. We would like to take advantage of such programs as much as possible.

Finally, we asked about the company's future prospects.

Next year, we plan to build our own factory to manufacture a crystal growing furnace, a device about 4 meters high. We expect that manufacturing will accelerate, taking advantage of our company's strengths.

The building in which Sanko will be located stands a two-minute walk from JR Hamamatsucho Station. Hamamatsucho is also the first station on the Tokyo Monorail, which connects directly to Haneda Airport, making it especially convenient for domestic and international business trips.

Corporate Profile

Company Name ： Sanko Co.

Location: PMO Hamamatsucho 8F, 2-5-5 Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Representative ： Toshihiro Kaminaga, Chairman of the Board

　　　　　　　 Atsushi Okuno, President and Representative Director

Establishment : February 1969

Business Description: Handling of processed products of carbon, ceramics, metals, resins, etc.

　　　　　　　 Development, design, and production of heating equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment parts, new type heaters, and other products to meet customer needs.

　　　　　　　 Development, design, manufacturing, evaluation, maintenance, etc. of products to meet customer needs.

Home Page: https://www.kk-sanko.co.jp/home

Information Source

Tokyo Metropolitan Business Location Consultation Center

Home Page:https://www.ilsc.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/

What is the Tokyo Metropolitan Consultation Center for New Business Location?

The Tokyo Metropolitan Corporate Location Advisory Center provides free consultation for companies and sole proprietors in search of a "location" to establish or expand their business. We will ask you about your desired conditions and make a simultaneous inquiry to private real estate businesses that handle offices, stores, factories, and business sites.

We also provide information on public property information and support systems of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and municipalities in Tokyo.

(The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Consultation Center for New Business Location is operated by the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.)

Articles

Interviews with companies that have located and are active in Tokyo and persons in charge of corporate support from the municipalities are posted on the website of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Consultation Center for Investors in New Business Facilities.

URL: https://www.ilsc.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/voice/052.html