A key aspect of reform is the shift in focus away from core fields of the past.
For example, we have responded to recent growth in the electronics business, particularly in regard to products such as digital cameras and mobile phones. We are now producing materials for the reflective film of plasma displays and LCD panels, and for touch panels and similar components. Today we are helping to bring forth a true information society by supplying such materials for products in the fields of electronics and information technology.
Companies in virtually every field are striving to create products with high added value. OIKE is responding to that need with transfer film products that bring new functionality to existing materials. As a result we're able to help firms in the manufacturing and construction industries supply products with enhanced quality and functionality. The potential of the new OIKE lies in this and other fields that had previously gone unexplored.
Even though we are striking out into new fields, we're careful not to diversify indiscriminately. The two examples mentioned above have come about through the expansion and redirection of proprietary technologies. Our core competence encompasses dry and wet coating technologies. Used creatively, such a competence offers considerable potential for new opportunities. For example, it is conceivable that the addition of silver, with its bacteria-resistant properties, to other materials might have useful applications in the medical field.
The new "OIKE" is enthusiastically exploring such possibilities by strengthening our development sections: the "Frontier Center" and "Kurayoshi Development Center".