It is time to transition from defence to attack Passing on the technology and spirit Pushing forwards with Power and Passion cultivated through copper mine operation Since the company’s foundation in 1875, we have expanded with a variety of The present prosperity of the Furukawa Company Group would not and electric rock drills and Western smelting technology. businesses in order to meet the demands of the times, originating in copper mine have been achieved without its founder, Ichibei Furukawa (1832- Some time later, Furukawa began imported machinery maintenance, development. The core technologies that we cultivated in copper mine develop- 1903). The history of Furukawa dates back to 1875 when Ichibei began component manufacturing, and machinery production. This is the root the Kusakura Copper Mine operation in Niigata. Two years later, he history of the Furukawa Company Group – a manufacturer of products ment have progressed and developed over time and are now the basis for the cur- launched the Ashio Copper Mine operation in Tochigi, where he intro- and developer of technologies with large shares in the global markets rent business fields of the Group. We provide products to all sorts of markets, duced revolutionary mining technologies one after another. This was of rock drills for mines, pumps for slurry transportation, ore crushing mainly in the fields of machinery and materials. the beginning of Furukawa’s development. machinery, water treatment technology and exhaust gas treatment tech- We celebrated our 140th anniversary on 8th August 2015. As social environ- Mining technology is not only about mining ore and extracting cop- nology, as well as the production of rare metals and concentrated sul- ments are significantly changing and global competition is becoming increasingly per. It may be no exaggeration to say that it is the essence of technolo- phuric acid, which are by-products of copper, among other things. fierce, we have established a new Management Philosophy in anticipation of the gies from all the industrial fields, from ore transportation, slurry trans- In 1905, Furukawa Mining Co., Ltd. was founded and private man- portation, water treatment and by-product treatment to construction of agement was shifted to a corporate structure. On the platform of the future: The Furukawa Company Group will remain indispensable to society by power plants which supply power required for these activities. Ichibei Ashio Copper Mine development, Furukawa began breaking new always embracing a spirit of challenge, advancing the technologies that have adopted leading-edge Western high-tech engineering technology for the ground in diversified industrial fields. Now, the Furukawa Group* underpinned the foundation of society that originated in mining development. operation of the Ashio Copper Mine, which was so significant that it has grown to include the Furukawa Company Group and other Furthermore, in order to realize this philosophy, we formulated, in November of was included in the Industrial History of the Meiji Era (1868 to 1912). Groups, and their companies are leaders in the Japanese industrial the same year, FURUKAWA Power & Passion 150, a vision for 2025 which will These technologies were utilized for the installation of tracks, world from high-tech home electronics to communications and cableways and conveyers for the transportation of ore, the construc- finance. Furukawa’s business fields vary. However, the technology Naohisa Miyakawa, be our 150th anniversary. This shows the future orientation of the whole company President and Representative Director based on our belief that now is the time to transition from defence to attack. tion of Japan’s first hydroelectric power plant, for the electrification and spirit cultivated by Ichibei through the development of copper of underground and surface mines and the introduction of pneumatic mines have undoubtedly been solidly passed on in each field to this day. The 2025 vision FURUKAWA Power & Passion 150 describes how we would like the Group to be in 10 years’ time. It aims to become a corporate group that leverages its reputation for category leadership and uniqueness to deliver growth. We will work to achieve continuous growth by placing more emphasis on our specialist niche products that have high market share, rising to the challenge with our own peerless technology and always responding to customer needs with mar- keting-based management*. In order to aim for an even higher level in the future, the Group believes that it should carefully maintain the positives that it has cultivated so far while being required to break through traditional corporate culture and moulds. With Power and Passion, we will push towards achieving this vision and continue to meet the expectations of all our stakeholders with the intention of working towards even better corporate value. * Marketing-based management means incorporating marketing into the core of management to provide products and services recognized as valuable in changing markets, with the aims of deepening ties with customers, achieving sustained growth, and increasing corporate value. * Furukawa Group The history of the Furukawa Group dates back to when the Japanese Mine King, Ichibei Furukawa, started the copper mine business. Since then, a number of Furukawa Group compa- nies have been established through the development and diversification of businesses and are now active in various industries in Japan as well as overseas. Currently, the Furukawa Group forms a voluntary organization called the Furukawa Group Executive Council consisting of 10 executive companies, namely Furukawa Co., Ltd., The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., ADEKA Corporation, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., Fuji Electric Holdings Co., Ltd., Fujitsu Limited, Nippon Light Metal Holdings Company, Ltd., ZEON Corporation, Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co, Mizuho Financial Group and member companies, for cooperation between Group companies and enhanced mutual collaboration. Passing on the technology and spirit cultivated through copper mine operation 1 Meeting diverse needs of customers New management structure for a time of change with the spirit of “Facing the new by learning from the past” For over 140 years since our foundation in 1875, we have remained idea of paying attention to the environment around us was not common, Furukawa Co., Ltd. has been working to restructure its organization Separating and incorporating our businesses enabled us to make steadfast as a vanguard of a society changing at a bewildering pace. we implemented the world’s best environmental measures at the Ashio through the selection and concentration of businesses and to improve decisions quickly, more accurately understand customer needs and In 1918, the predecessor of the current Furukawa Company Group, Copper Mine. Ashio became an experimental site for environmental and enhance its financial culture in order to meet diversifying customer prepare to beat increasingly fierce global competition in this time of Furukawa Mining Co., Ltd. was established. The technologies and measures in Japan. Pollution prevention measures and by-product col- demands and to win global competition. change. products cultivated at the Ashio Copper Mine were utilized in a wide lection technologies developed at Ashio, as well as our mindset of serv- We have now come to adopt a new management structure through In addition, after the incorporation, each company in the Group range of fields by Furukawa Mining Co., Ltd. In 1989, the company ing society, are invaluable assets which have been passed down to today. spinning off businesses as Furukawa Company Group with Furukawa began promoting the overall business by being conscious of its indi- name was changed to Furukawa Co., Ltd. Grounded in its current Now we are in the 21st century and we have separated and incorpo- Co., Ltd., the operating holding company, at its core. vidual responsibility for profit and loss, resulting in raised awareness Action Guidelines set as the corporate philosophies, Innovation, rated our businesses in order to meet increasingly diversifying needs. In the Machinery Business, the industrial machinery segment was of cost reduction and energy conservation. This generated effects of Creativity, and Harmony, we have been working to improve new corporate The new Furukawa Company Group aims to transition from being an taken over by Furukawa Industrial Machinery Systems, Co., Ltd., the synergy in each company, which is contributing to the enhancement of value in this time of change. excellent company to being the best company that it can possibly be, rock drill segment by Furukawa Rock Drill Co., Ltd. and the UNIC the management culture of the whole Group. Even though the company name was changed, the roots of the through self-transformation and by going back to its roots. machinery segment by Furukawa UNIC Corporation. These are the Furukawa Company Group lie in the operation of copper mines, and core companies in the Group. the technologies and products developed at mines are still supporting *Monozukuri is a Japanese word consisting of “mono” which means “products,” In the Materials Business, the metals segment started at the time of our competitiveness in different forms. Grounded in this history of the and “zukuri” which means “process of making or creation.” However, the word Furukawa’s foundation, and was succeeded by Furukawa Metals & Group, we believe that since now we are in a time of change, taking means more than simply making something; it has overtones of excellence, skill, Resources Co., Ltd. The electronics segment was taken over by spirit, zest, and pride in the ability to make things very well. is not pride in and identifying with our grass roots monozukuri* is important, Monozukuri Furukawa Denshi Co., Ltd. and the chemicals segment by Furukawa in the spirit of “Facing the new by learning from the past.” mindless repetition; it requires creative minds and is often related to craftsman- Chemicals, Co., Ltd. ship, which can be learned through lengthy apprenticeships rather than the In addition, we give the highest priority to contributing to society The operating holding company, Furukawa Co., Ltd.