Building Tomorrow: The Craft and Innovation Driving Konoshima Chemical, Japan’s Materials Leader

Traditionally, Japanese manufacturing, known as monozukuri, is rooted in a deep commitment to product perfection through exceptional craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. This philosophy goes beyond simply making a product—it's reflected in the pride and dedication shown throughout every stage of the process. What does the monozukuri philosophy mean to you and your company?

We’re not here to represent Japan as a whole, so I’ll speak for myself and for our company. Our primary goal is to ensure the company’s continued success. To achieve that, we focus on meeting customer and market demands while addressing the challenges facing society. In doing so, we naturally develop a variety of products. You could say we’re not a company built from seeds, but from needs.

Japan’s manufacturing sector faces intense competition from China and South Korea. However, with the weakened yen and ongoing supply chain disruptions, many companies are now seeking to diversify their suppliers. What opportunities does this shift present for your company and for Japanese manufacturing as a whole?

The depreciation of the yen hasn’t had much impact on our business. While we do export some products to the US, that only accounts for about 10% of our total sales. Some of the products sold in Japan may eventually be used in the US, but since those aren’t direct sales, we don’t view the weaker yen as a significant advantage. In China, there are many counterfeiters who copy our products and we are looking into countermeasures. We're also competing against extremely low prices, so foreign exchange rates don’t play a major role in our business.

What sets your company apart in such a price-sensitive global market?

I believe it's our reliability and quality. For example, materials from other companies may pass initial tests, but once they're put to use, defects often start to appear. In contrast, our products maintain stable quality throughout their use, and I think that consistency is our greatest strength.

Japan is facing a demographic crisis that’s expected to lead to labor shortages and reduced domestic consumption—for instance, the population is projected to decline by 10% by 2040. How is your company addressing these challenges?

First of all, we’re not focused on volume production. Our philosophy is to prioritize profitability, so market trends aren’t a major concern for us because we target the high value-added segment. In that space, essential products will be purchased even at a higher price, so declining consumption isn’t a significant issue.

That said, we are definitely facing challenges related to a shrinking workforce, particularly when it comes to securing skilled engineers for R&D, which is a core part of our business. To address this, we’re working to streamline our operations through digital transformation (DX), automation, and the integration of AI. We’ve even established a dedicated team to lead these efforts, which is how we’re tackling the labor shortage.

The labor shortage can also create market opportunities by enabling companies to offer products that help customers reduce their own labor demands. In 2020, for example, you launched Atrafit, a solution that simplifies the prefabricated construction process using specialized eaves fittings. What new ideas are you exploring to help your customers address their labor shortage challenges?

I’m impressed by your research in knowing about Atrafit. It received the Good Design Award, though we’re still facing some challenges in promoting it. As you mentioned, the construction industry is also dealing with a shrinking workforce, and many projects in Japan are experiencing delays. That’s exactly why we developed Atrafit and our pre-cut process. As I mentioned earlier, our aim is to solve the challenges our clients face, so we focus on developing and delivering products that help them save labor. That remains our top priority.

Bonded ceramics for Q-switch applications

Your company has diversified into three main business divisions: chemicals, ceramics, and building materials. What would you say are your competitive advantages, and what synergies are you able to generate across these divisions?

In building materials, performance is our key differentiator. While competitors typically offer sub-incombustible materials with lower fire resistance, our products meet the highest incombustibility standards. In addition, Atrafit is a fitting method that utilises the low dimensional change quality of our eave ceiling boards. It allows for easy installation of the design-oriented eave ceiling boards without the need for nailing. Housing manufacturers have a wide range of needs, and while we’re not focused on large-scale production, we provide superior quality and service to meet those demands.

For magnesium compounds, our raw material is seawater—a virtually unlimited resource—whereas competitors rely on brine, which is limited. That gives us a significant advantage. In supplements, our particle control technology has enabled us to develope APIs for tablets that have excellent strength and and quick to dissolve. This gives us a strong competitive edge, especially in the US market, where we are competing with other companies' products. We currently hold nearly half of the market share in the US in that area.

As for ceramics, no global competitors can match us in terms of transparency, larger sizes and higher quality. However, the challenge is that the market itself isn’t very large.

Your company is recognized not only for the quality of its products but also for their design—evidenced by the Good Design Award you mentioned earlier, as well as another received in 2024 for advancing material performance and efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions, and promoting a safer, more human-centric work environment. How does this award reflect your company’s values?

Our factory emits a significant amount of CO2, and we recognized that this isn't sustainable for the future. That led us to consider what actions we could take. Earlier, you asked about the synergy between our three business divisions—initially, there was none; they operated independently. But when we began exploring CO2 recycling, that’s when true synergy emerged. We now use the carbonization technology developed for producing magnesium carbonate as a raw material in our building materials. By addressing future environmental risks, we created new technology, made possible through the collaboration of two previously separate divisions.

Given the accumulated technology and expertise across your three business divisions, are there any specific fields you’re exploring for expansion, either within Japan or internationally?

Of course, we want to leverage all the technology and expertise we’ve developed, but our main focus right now is on CO2 recycling. Our system has potential applications beyond our own operations and could be adopted by other companies and industries. We’re currently gauging interest in Japan, and the recognition from the Good Design Award has already led to some inquiries. While we haven’t received any inquiries from overseas yet, the system is well-suited for international use, and we do plan to promote it globally in the future.

Transparent YAG ceramics for various applications

Our transparent ceramics have been very well received internationally. For example, in the US, both the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and NASA are using our materials for research. We also have customers in the UK and across the EU. These ceramics are being applied in areas such as ex-fusion, aerospace, and dual-use. For sizes ranging from  10 to 20 centimeters, we’re the only producer capable of achieving a level of transparency higher than crystal. Because of this unique capability, we see this segment as having the greatest potential for global expansion.

How long did it take your team to develop this product?

It took about ten years to develop, though the product has been available since 2000. The material allows lasers to oscillate with high efficiency, and some of our customers are considering high-power lasers for space solar power applications and for capturing space debris. The technology could also be used to contribute to advances in fusion power and hydrogen production.

We’re also receiving a lot of interest in using our materials for autonomous driving. However, production costs are high—over JPY 10,000—so there’s currently no demand in the consumer market. For large-scale commercial projects, though, we’re the only company capable of supplying this material at the required quality. That said, the market remains small, with most customers still in the research phase.

Looking at your overseas strategy—considering that half of your chemical business sales already come from international markets and you've highlighted ceramics as a future focus—which products are you prioritizing for global expansion?

In building materials, we’ve met Japan’s strict incombustibility regulations, which I believe are over-specified for most overseas markets. While we are exporting some products, I don’t anticipate significant growth in that area internationally, as the level of quality may exceed what's required abroad.

Magnesium chemicals, on the other hand, are part of a borderless business. We already have established markets in the US and Europe, and we’re seeing growth in China and across Asia, where we expect further expansion.

Our ceramics products are in demand worldwide, and we hope to see that business continue to grow. However, due to the high level of confidentiality in this segment, it's not yet clear how we can collaborate with others to promote it more broadly.

Your company has expanded internationally through exports rather than establishing overseas bases. Many companies entering foreign markets form partnerships for distribution or joint development. As you noted, confidentiality is a particular concern for your ceramics business. As you look to grow your overseas sales, are you seeking new partners—and if so, what kind of partners are you looking for?

We already have trading partners in the US, Europe, and Asia, but we’re now considering shifting production globally, particularly for magnesium compounds. To support local production and shipping, we’ll need to find new partners, and we're still evaluating what form those partnerships should take—whether joint ventures or possibly technical OEM agreements.

As your company celebrates its 108th anniversary, let’s imagine we return in two years for a follow-up interview. What goals or ambitions would you like to have achieved by then?

We had been expecting positive developments over the next two years, but with today’s tariff announcement from Trump, the outlook has become more uncertain.

That said, we believe our CO2 recycling technology is ready for immediate use. While there are theoretical alternatives being explored, those are future solutions—our technology is already available. If the right conditions are in place, it can be deployed anywhere in the world right away. We’re open to working with anyone interested in using it and are prepared to share our knowhow to support its adoption.

Regarding our ceramics, they’re currently recognized mainly within high-level research institutions. Moving forward, we hope to expand their reach into the private sector and generate sales in those areas. While the product is costly, we aim to strike a balance between quality and price to better align with market needs. If we can find partners who can help us understand the specific demands in each country, we’re ready to respond—those partners will be key in helping us bring these products to market.

If you had to describe your company in just one sentence, what would that sentence be?

We’re currently working on our corporate identity, including a new logo and tagline, which will be ready next year.

It’s difficult to capture everything in one sentence because our businesses are so diverse, but I would say we are a company that delivers solutions to society through CO2 reduction, clean energy, and transparent ceramics.

For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.konoshima.co.jp/eng/corporate/outline.html

To read more about Konoshima Chemical Industry, check out this article about them.