Business Strategies - Innovation Enabling Materials

Mission of Innovation Enabling Materials Business

As a platform that contributes to innovation in next-generation businesses and the creation of competitive products, we will continue to be a business that provides unique technologies and materials by creating innovation enabling materials with new functions through in-house co-creation.

Strengths and Competitive Advantages for the Achievement of the Long-Term Vision

We will make use of Resonac’s strengths and competitive advantages to become a world-class functional chemical company and a company that can compete on the world stage by 2030.

  • Possession of a wide-range of product lineup and material and production technologies, such as for organic materials, polymers, and ceramics, which have produced unrivaled and competitive products
  • Provision of products and services customized to meet customer needs for a wide variety of applications
  • Anticipation of market needs through our abundant customer base and reflecting them in development
  • creation of innovation enabling materials with new functions through integration of core in-house technologies in upstream and downstream materials, turning information into collective intelligence, and in-house co-creation

Strategies of Innovation Enabling Materials Business for the Achievement of the Long-Term Vision

  • In the Innovation Enabling Materials segment, we are providing a wide range of technologies and materials that provide a technological platform to support the innovation and enhance the competitiveness of our “Core Growth,” “Stable Earnings” and “Next-Generation” businesses.  
  • Going forward, by staying ahead of the competition in terms of supplying inorganic and organic functional materials that are deemed valuable by the market, we will create a new business on a medium- to long-term basis for the realization of the Purpose. 

Vision for 2030 and Roadmap to Achieve It

Vision for the future(2030) issues to Be Addressed Result in 2023 Plans for 2024
  • Consistently create new materials and technologies as a vessel that supports the Group’s innovation and enhanced competitiveness
    Vision for 2030 and Roadmap to Achieve It
  • Consistently maintain profitability with an EBITDA margin of 15% or more as a leader in specific sectors
  • 【Functional chemicals】
  • Be a leader in specific sectors of the global market that provides value to society
  • 【Resin material】
  • Contribute to solving social issues by evolving our functional materials and technologies in various ways
  • 【Coating】
  • Create new products and businesses that capitalize on our insight into proprietary formulation
  • 【Ceramics】
  • Provide ceramic products and services that solve social issues and are chosen by customers
  • In next-generation semiconductor materials and promising domains, strengthen our development and manufacturing capabilities for organic and inorganic materials to be used as components in these domains
     
  • Initiatives to improve profitability, such as the optimization of production lines and fixed costs, and portfolio revision with an eye to business growth backed by our competitive edge
  • 【Functional chemical】
  • Enhancement of our ability to aggregate individual strengths to provide social value
  • 【Resin materials】
  • Enhancement of our ability to identify changes in social needs and match them with our existing technologies
  • 【Coating】
  • Enhancement and evolution of our capabilities for proprietary formulations in consideration of environmental regulations, etc.
  • 【Ceramics】
  • Launch of new products for electronic devices and productivity improvement
  • Developed organic and inorganic core materials and supplied them to other Businesses in the Group
  • Implemented price revisions in response to declining profitability caused by delays in market recovery and rising costs
  • 【Functional chemicals】
  • Promoted in-house co-creation of resins for ACF and insulating varnishes
  • 【Resin materialsl】
  • Increased the profit margin through product mix improvement, such as by starting mass production of new next-generation products (low-melting glass and sew-free adhesives) and reviewing low-profit transactions
  • 【Coating】
  • Promoted the development and sales expansion of PFAS-free and environmentally friendly products, and implemented reform of the earnings structure to ensure resilience to changes in the business environment
  • 【Ceramics】
  • CMP slurry and fillers are used in products of other business units. Securing of profit spread through flexible pricing according to the market trend
  • Maximize value creation through co-creation with other businesses (develop technology and supply products for innovation enabling materials)
  • Maintain and improve profitability through thorough profit spread management linked to raw material prices
  • 【Functional chemicals】
  • Expand sales of high-value-added products such as specialty monomers for semiconductors and LIB anode binders
  • 【Resin materials】
  • Launch new high-value-added products such as low-melting glass and establish their full-scale mass production, and continue to improve profit margins through product mix improvement
  • 【Coating】
  • Capture demand for PFAS-free products/products with low environmental impact, reap the benefits of earnings structure reforms, and optimize the global production system
  • 【Ceramics】
  • Launch new products for electronic devices and improve productivity

TOPICS 2024 of Innovation Enabling Materials Business

Creation of Semiconductor Material Technology using Ceramic Technology (Next-generation CMP Slurry)

Following the merger of the former Showa Denko and the former Hitachi Chemical, Resonac has been creating new technologies and value through the fusion of technologies and human resources.
By combining the abrasive particle technology of Resonac Ceramics (former Showa Denko Ceramics) with the semiconductor and electronic material technologies of the Yamazaki Plant (former Hitachi Chemical), we are currently working to develop next-generation CMP slurry for semiconductor front-end processes. We are creating new value, including polishing technology compatible with multi-layered semiconductors and finer line pitches.

Creation of Semiconductor Material Technology using Ceramic Technology (Next-generation CMP Slurry)

Following the merger of the former Showa Denko and the former Hitachi Chemical, Resonac has been creating new technologies and value through the fusion of technologies and human resources.
By combining the abrasive particle technology of Resonac Ceramics (former Showa Denko Ceramics) with the semiconductor and electronic material technologies of the Yamazaki Plant (former Hitachi Chemical), we are currently working to develop next-generation CMP slurry for semiconductor front-end processes. We are creating new value, including polishing technology compatible with multi-layered semiconductors and finer line pitches.

Solution of Social Issues through Business Operations

Business/Product How to contribute to society Related SDGs
Functional chemicals and (solvent-free) coating materials Mitigate air pollution through the reduction of VOC emissions 3、11、12
Ceramics (functional heat dissipating fillers)
 		 Contribute to the downsizing and weight reduction of electronic components through efficient heat dissipation, thereby helping reduce the use of energy by automotive components and industrial equipment 7
Resin materials (highly durable insulating materials for next-generation EVs) Reduce CO2 emissions through the expanded use of next-generation EVs equipped with high-performance motors 7、9