Strengthening products in areas of strength and accelerating new product development

「In addition to the 1,700V SiC-MOSFET module already on the market, we have completed development of a 1,200V module and a discrete product.」

「We have begun manufacturing and selling a new high-performance SiC-MOSFET module as a semiconductor product. It adopts next-generation technology known as a wide-bandgap semiconductor and is designed to support high voltages. Specifically, it is rated at 1,700V and 300A, making it suitable for various equipment requiring high power.」

「We have begun initiatives on both the sales and manufacturing sides, including planning the development of new products aimed at achieving carbon neutrality, strengthening collaboration with domestic and overseas partners, and standardizing product design.」

「We will also shortly begin selling a module product rated for 1,700V and 300A.」

「As part of our efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, we began selling a redesigned version of our core surface treatment power supply with improved power-conversion efficiency.」

「In this business, sales of large power supplies for materials processing, which performed well in the previous fiscal year, declined in general industrial power supplies. However, power supplies for surface treatment, supported by demand in fields requiring precision surface treatment, and welding machines performed solidly both in Japan and overseas. In inverters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), battery-equipped inverters and fuel-cell inverters contributed to sales and drove revenue growth. Small power supplies also grew, mainly those embedded in medical equipment.」

「Among core power modules, sales for general-purpose inverters, FA servos and welding machines performed solidly.」

「Sales have exceeded the initial plan, and we plan to expand production capacity to meet further demand.」

「In this business, production activities continue to be affected by difficulties procuring raw materials such as semiconductors, electronic components and molded resin products. However, general industrial power supplies for producing copper and aluminum materials and for water treatment grew substantially, while power supplies for surface treatment of electronic components also performed solidly. Demand for small power supplies recovered markedly, driving a substantial year-on-year increase in revenue and making a significant contribution to overall business growth.」

「Sales increased in materials processing, including copper-foil production and aluminum etching, while demand remained solid for power supplies for surface treatment of electronic components used in data centers, PCs and other applications, resulting in higher sales in this field.」

「We have brought to market two transfer-molded SiC module types, rated at 1,200V and 100A/150A, that fully exploit SiC's low-loss performance in high-temperature environments, as well as a 1,200V, 50A discrete product.」

「In addition to advancing existing businesses, we are focusing on developing products related to new energy and on initiatives to give semiconductor products higher voltage ratings, greater capacity and higher reliability.」

「In this business, demand for industrial applications, including general-purpose inverters, FA servos and welding machines, remained solid, while demand for consumer applications, including electrical appliances and hot-water showers, also recovered significantly from the previous fiscal year. To meet demand from a broad range of customers, sales increased for discrete devices and chips in addition to core modules such as thyristors and diodes.」

「As hybrid and electric vehicles become more widespread in the automotive industry, we are developing and commercializing a modular regenerative bidirectional DC power supply that can be applied to battery evaluation and the evaluation and testing of inverters for automotive and other applications, and operated with series and parallel connections according to the required combination of voltage and current.」

「In this environment, we developed and began selling 75A and 100A versions of the compact, highly reliable DIP three-phase rectifier diode bridge, as well as a 100A version of the 1200V SiC-MOSFET module.」

「Meanwhile, we expanded the lineup of compact, highly reliable DIP three-phase rectifier diode bridges and began mass production.」

「By application, revenue increased year on year for FA equipment and elevator modules, but this was not enough to absorb declines in other applications.」

「In the power equipment business, we also developed products tailored to customer requirements, but the current order environment remains extremely challenging.」

「In this business, sales of power supplies for producing copper foil, power supplies for etching aluminum foil used in electrolytic capacitors, uninterruptible power supplies and inverters equipped with storage batteries increased substantially year on year.」

「In this business, sales of power supplies for copper-foil production and aluminum-foil etching, which had been ongoing projects since the previous fiscal year, were realized. As a result, revenue increased 3.3% year on year to ¥4,296 million.」

「In this business, the core power modules grew in applications including FA equipment and various inverters, bringing segment revenue to ¥5,268 million, up 2.3% year on year.」

「In this business, power supplies for producing copper foil used in lithium-ion battery manufacturing, power supplies for etching aluminum foil for electrolytic capacitors, and various small embedded power supplies performed solidly.」

「In this business, revenue from power supplies for metal surface treatment declined due to restrained capital investment in smartphone-related facilities. However, power supplies for copper-foil production, etching aluminum foil for electrolytic capacitors, and various small embedded power supplies performed solidly. Revenue increased 12.4% year on year to ¥4,160 million, while segment profit rose 349.0% to ¥351 million, reflecting the higher revenue and improved profitability, including higher productivity at the Chinese manufacturing subsidiary.」

「Against a backdrop of rising demand for lithium-ion batteries, orders for power supplies used to produce and process materials such as copper foil and aluminum increased sharply and made a significant contribution to sales. Power supplies for metal surface treatment, an area of strength, including those for electronic components and various printed circuit boards, also maintained solid sales.」

「Meanwhile, power supplies for precious-metal plating, including those for electronic components in mobile phones and various printed circuit boards, performed well in the metal surface treatment business. In general industrial equipment power supplies, those for copper-foil production, aluminum processing and silicon pulling contributed to sales.」

「The renewed DCAUTO Series power supply for metal surface treatment, launched in the previous fiscal year, began making a full contribution to sales during the current fiscal year」

「For power supplies used in metal surface treatment, which hold the industry's leading market share, we completed a full model change for the DCAUTO Series and began accepting orders for the new-concept modular MRM Series power supply.」

「In November 2016, the subsidiary 三社電機イースタン began developing, manufacturing and selling small and low-capacity power equipment.」

「As a result, to meet the broad range of requests from customers for industrial power equipment as the Sansha Electric group, we established the consolidated subsidiary 三社電機イースタン to strengthen our small-product range, and decided that the subsidiary would take over イースタン's power systems business.」

「For product lines with the industry's leading market shares, we will accelerate new product development and further improve the functions and performance made possible by our in-depth knowledge of customers' operations.」