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EPTE Newsletter: Hitachi Chemical Now Showa Denko

My business contact list has more than 2,500 names. Most of these contacts are affiliated with the printed circuit or electronic material industries. Our bi-weekly newsletter is distributed to every contact in my electronic address book. I receive a few bounce-back emails with the default message “address not found.” People do change jobs and leave their current company for greener pastures (hopefully). Some readers from the distribution list will email us their forwarding contact information. The number of these requests has significantly increased during the coronavirus pandemic.

One of my business associates from Japan requested I update his contact information without telling me the details for the changes. However, I figured it out when I read that his employer, Hitachi Chemical, a consolidated subsidiary of Showa Denko, changed its name to Showa Denko (they will now be part of this company). They are an electronic material supplier with a wide range of products and a member of the Hitachi Group. Printed circuits and related materials are their specialties. They developed many circuit board technologies for both rigid and flex circuits. Hitachi Chemical supplies capable photoresist materials to generate ultra-fine lines for high-density multilayer boards. Hitachi Chemical is a legend in the printed circuit industry. The name is unforgettable for me.

Company officials released a statement commenting on the new name and adding that this collaboration will generate new business trends. I am a little skeptical but remain optimistic. Showa Denko is a raw material supplier. The company developed several new functional materials over the last 10 years with some success. I hope the culture at Showa Denko remains one with a pioneering spirit in the printed circuit industry.

Headlines 

1. Rohm (device manufacture in Japan) 9/29

Developed three tiny MOSFET series “REVC010UN,” “RV8L002SN,” and “BSS84X” for automobile applications (SMT size: 1.0 x 1.0 mm).

2. Fuji Keizai (market research firm in Japan) 9/30

Released new market research about the global market of photovoltaic cells. The global market will be 4.458 trillion yen in 2030.

3. Toyota Motors (automobile company in Japan) 10/5

Will co-develop large trucks powered by fuel cell batteries for the North American market with Hino Motors.

4. TIT (technical college in Japan) 10/12

Developed a new thin-film manufacturing process for piezo materials of niobium compounds under low temperatures (240°C).

Dominique K. Numakura is the managing director of DKN Research LLC. Contact haverhill@dknreseach.com for further information and news.