| During this new century, the information technology has made tremendous progress with increasing speed. As a result, a surprising promotion has been made in the efficiency of the business activities. Under such situation, new business models have been introduced one after another. The structure of the society and the structure of the industrial production system are becoming more and more global. Now, the drastic reformation is being made in every part of the society.
In such difficult age, M. Watanabe & Co., Ltd. (M.W.) has continued to hold a unique position in the market by pursuing the concept of “to satisfy customers’ needs” ever since its foundation.
M.W. started in 1930 (Showa 5) as an import/export business company. In 1941 (Showa 16), the first affiliate manufacturing company was established. Through the turmoil before and after the war, from the mid-1950s, M.W. started an export/import agency to handle laboratory & medical supplies. When the semiconductor industry made progress in Japan, M.W. started local sales of the electronic industry material such as fused quartz, and at the same time, started agency of semiconductor processing materials. As such, M.W. has established the firm position as the exclusive distributor of the industrial materials.
In order to meet requirement from the semiconductor industry. M.W. continued to establish manufacturing affiliates one after another starting from the mid-1960s. These affiliates have produced and distributed quartz processed goods, silicone rubber moldings, cleaning systems. Also, an overseas affiliated company was established in the U.S. for manufacturing and for distribution. These manufacturing affiliates have accumulated the original technical knowledge and skill based on the market information obtained by M.W. and also based on requirements made by customers. As a result, these affiliates was able to create high quality products of the world standard.
At present, M.W. is keenly interested in doing research to develop the next generation semiconductor business by combining its own original technology and the most advanced knowledge presented by research professors of various universities. On the other hand, from the ecological point of view, M.W. has been continuing to do research to harness solar energy.
For further development of the business, M.W. and each affiliate will, by stimulating creativity and curiosity, continue to develop new products, of course conforming to the basic concept of “to satisfy customers’ needs”. President & CEO Ichiki Kusuhara |
