Market Testing and Customer Evaluation of Gold-Reduced and Precious-Metal-Free Products
First written in FY2016. 9 of 11 entries say "Advanced", first in FY2017. Latest entry: 2026-10-27.
The whole theme swung hardest in 2024: 2 of 9 companies on the "Worse" side.
15 other companies' latest entry also says "Advanced".
- 2026-10-27AdvancedResults briefing materials
「Customer selection and preparations for mass production are progressing」
Indicated that new orders have reached the stage at which customers are being selected and preparations for mass production are progressing. - FY2026AdvancedAnnual report
「The environmentally friendly cyanide-free electroless gold plating solution for high-end FC-BGA substrates is in mass production at customers. This fiscal year, the company developed a next-generation product with improved performance, and customers began phased mass production. Sample work has begun for battery materials, and customer evaluations of a new gold plating product for microconnectors are underway.」
In addition to mass production of the existing environmentally friendly electroless gold plating solution, the company moved to phased mass production of a next-generation product with improved performance. Battery materials progressed to the start of sample work, and the new product for microconnectors progressed to the customer evaluation stage. - FY2025AdvancedAnnual report
「The environmentally friendly cyanide-free electroless gold plating solution for cutting-edge, high-density semiconductor package substrates is in mass production at customers. This fiscal year, the company developed a next-generation product with improved performance and reached the final customer evaluation stage. Sample work has begun.」
In addition to existing mass production, the next-generation product reached the final customer evaluation stage, and battery materials progressed to the start of sample work. - FY2024AdvancedAnnual report
「The environmentally friendly cyanide-free electroless gold plating solution for cutting-edge, high-density semiconductor package substrates is in mass production at customers. Customer evaluations are underway for the cyanide-free electrolytic gold plating solution for cutting-edge semiconductors. For battery materials, the company proceeded with preparations for sample work and had already begun sample work with some customers.」
In terms of product and customer-evaluation stages, the electroless gold plating solution for high-density packages has entered mass production, the electrolytic gold plating solution for semiconductor wiring is under customer evaluation, and sample work has begun for some battery materials. - FY2023AdvancedAnnual report
「The environmentally friendly cyanide-free electroless gold plating solution for cutting-edge, high-density semiconductor package substrates is in mass production at customers. Customer evaluations are underway for the cyanide-free electrolytic gold plating solution for cutting-edge semiconductors. Inquiries have been received from Japan and overseas, and the company is proceeding with preparations for sample work.」
The electroless gold plating solution for high-density packages has moved into mass production at customers, the gold plating solution for semiconductor wiring is under customer evaluation, and preparations for sample work on battery materials are underway following inquiries, indicating progress in the product and customer-evaluation stages. - FY2021AdvancedAnnual report
「The direct copper plating technologies DIG and EPIG, on which the company has conducted extensive R&D, made significant progress toward commercialization as customer demand increased.」
The direct copper plating technologies DIG and EPIG progressed from the previous stages of market testing and customer evaluation to a stage of significant progress toward commercialization. - FY2021-Q1Stagnant sales of plating chemicals for connectorsAnnual report
「Sales of plating chemicals for connectors, which had remained firm following the launch of improved products, ended up stagnating.」
The company stated that sales during the quarter stagnated for its connector plating chemicals, which had been performing steadily following the launch of an improved product. - FY2020AdvancedAnnual report
「The launch of an improved product made a significant contribution to expanding the company’s share of precious-metal plating chemicals for microconnectors.」
The company stated that the launch of an improved product made a significant contribution to expanding its share of precious-metal plating chemicals for microconnectors. - FY2018AdvancedAnnual report
「The direct ENEPIG plating process, EPIG, is expected to expand high-frequency suitability for RF modules and other applications. Following favorable market-test results in the fiscal year ended March [year not specified], a new EPIG line was installed at a customer and is expected to begin operation during the fiscal year ended March [year not specified]. The company also developed a pure-gold plating solution that increases bump hardness while maintaining gold purity of at least 99.9%, and it is currently being evaluated by customers.」
Following favorable market-test results, EPIG progressed to the installation of a new line at a customer and is expected to begin operation during the fiscal year ended March [year not specified]. The pure-gold plating solution, after development was completed, remains under customer evaluation. - FY2017AdvancedAnnual report
「In the fiscal year ended March [year not specified], the company tested EPIG on an actual production line, obtained favorable results and moved a step closer to commercialization. It also developed a pure-gold plating solution that increases bump hardness while maintaining gold purity of at least 99.9%, and the product is currently being evaluated by customers.」
For new products and processes, the company obtained favorable results in actual production-line testing, and after developing a pure-gold plating solution, moved to the customer evaluation stage. - FY2016First statedAnnual report
「The company developed “Aqua Coat” as a new product to compensate for the insufficient corrosion resistance of thin gold plating films and will move to market testing next fiscal year. “IM-GOLD FG” and “IM-GOLD PC” are low-gold-content immersion gold plating products developed for flexible circuits, and market testing will begin next fiscal year. As a way to reduce gold consumption in gold plating used for LF’s PPF (Palladium Plated Flame), the company is testing alloying, which is currently being evaluated by customers.」
The company described specific development stages, including moving new products to market testing and conducting customer evaluations.