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5. JTEKT Corporation Business Report FY ended Mar. 2019

JTEKT Corporation Business Report FY ended Mar. 2019

Joint Venture

-The Company, Aisin Seiki, Advics, and Denso established J-QuAD DYNAMICS as a joint venture in April 2019 to further enhance the level of self-driving technology. J-QuAD DYNAMICS is engaged in developing software for self-driving and integrated-control software.

Business Plan

-Tetsuo Agata, President of the Company, told the press that the company has set an annual sales growth target of 4% by the fiscal year that ends in March 2031 (FY 2030). This target is higher than the near-term global gross domestic product growth rate of 3% forecast by international organizations. JTEKT, which is the largest steering system maker in the world, aims to further expand its global steering market share, to strengthen competitiveness of bearing products, and to enhance capacity to grow by focusing on new businesses. JTEKT’s research and development costs are expected to account for 5% of its total sales (3.8% in FY 2017). (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 11, 2019) 

Recent Development in Japan

-The Company will strengthen its automotive power device operations in response to the electrification of vehicles. It will start manufacturing a new capacitor at its plant in Japan in April 2019. The monthly production capacity for the capacitor will reach 40,000 cells in October 2019. JTEKT will apply technologies that it has accumulated for capacitors to the development of a lithium-ion secondary battery. It plans to wrap up development, with an aim to license the technology it develops to manufacturers of batteries and peripheral components.
The new lithium-ion capacitor developed by the company features high heat resistance and improved material performance, and as a result, can be used at temperatures from -40 to 80 degrees centigrade. The new capacitor can be used as an auxiliary power source for automotive electronic power steering systems. Customers such as construction machinery manufacturers are showing strong interest in the new capacitor. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 24, 2018)

-Announced that mass production of a new lithium-ion capacitor will begin at its two plants in Aichi Prefecture in 2019. It will start manufacturing 2,000 cells of the capacitor a month at its Higashi Kariya factory (Kariya City) in April 2019 and 40,000 cells a month at its Hanazono plant (Okazaki City) in the autumn of the same year. The newly-developed lithium-ion capacitor can be used at temperatures from -40 to 80 degrees centigrade and be employed as an auxiliary power source for automotive electronic power steering systems. Customers such as construction machinery manufacturers are also showing interest in the new capacitor. The new product will be supplied for internal equipment and to external customers. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on June 29, 2018)

Recent Development outside Japan

-At a press conference held in Nagoya City on May 29, Tetsuo Agata, President of JTEKT Corporation (JTEKT), announced the company's next-generation growth strategy, including business expansion into the African market, and the development of electric vehicle battery production facilities. The company has set its fixed exchange rate at JPY 95 to USD 1, and aims to raise its operating profit ratio from 4.9% in the fiscal year that ended in March 2018 (FY 2017) to 7.5% in FY 2022. JTEKT will start mass production of steering wheel systems in Morocco in September 2020 to establish a beachhead in the growing African market. Construction of a new plant will be completed in January 2019, and Fuji Kiko Co., Ltd., which became a subsidiary of JTEKT in 2017, will take charge of production. The new plant will supply steering wheel systems to European automakers in Morocco. The company has developed a new lithium-ion capacitor that can be used even at over 100 degrees centigrade. Agata said that the company has received inquiries about the new product from companies in various fields like autonomous driving steering backup power supply, as well as for medical, construction machine, and aircraft applications. JTEKT will start mass production of the new lithium-ion capacitor in the near future. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 31, 2018)

Contract

-JTEKT Corporation announced that its newly-designed Torsen torque sensitive limited-slip differential (LSD) has been adopted for Renault SA's Megane RS Trophy. The new Torsen LSD is JTEKT's first to be adopted for a Renault vehicle. The new LSD is a redesigned model of the Torsen Type-B for sports-type vehicles. Conventional Torsen Type-B has a helical spline structure in couplings for side gears to offer improved traction performance and driving experience. The new LSD has a one-way helical spline structure to provide enhanced torque distribution performance during acceleration and a reduced differential-limiting effect during deceleration. This configuration allows the new LSD to optimize torque distribution for the model in which it is used and offer improved riding comfort. The product will be produced in Belgium.  (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on February 22, 2019)

R&D Facilities

<Japan>

 
-JTEKT Corporation has established two open innovation centers in Japan. The centers will be used to enhance the creativity of researchers and deepen cooperation with external organizations like startups and universities, thereby contributing to the creation of new businesses and innovations. The established centers are JTEKT R&D Innovation Center Kariya (Aichi Prefecture) and Ginza JTEKT Open Innovation Center (Tokyo), which have been constructed by partly renovating the Higashi Kariya Office and Higashinihon Branch Office, respectively and installing facilities for prototype laboratories, information sharing, and joint research. JTEKT invested a total of JPY 100 million in this project. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on February 7, 2019)

R&D Activities

1) Steering

• Currently developing next-generation, rack-parallel EPS, targeting product launch in 2021 fiscal year.
• Development of self-driving technology and precise docking-control technology. Conducting proving tests for large-sized highway buses in seaside areas of Tokyo and Okinawa.

2) Drive line

• Development of torque-vectoring mechanism that controls the distribution of forward and rear torque and independent right-left rear-wheel torque; and a new 4WD system with a disconnect mechanism that disconnects the driveline to the rear wheel when 4WD is not needed.
• In response to electrification, developing an eMotor rear-wheel-drive control unit, a 4WD system.

3) Bearing

• Development of a low-torque hub unit that significantly improves the product-life of seals in muddy environments and at the same time reduces torque by 75%.
• Development of ball-bearing with ultra-low torque seal that reduces rotational torque by 30% and improves the conformability of seals. It is designed for power-control units mounted on electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles that require improved power/energy consumption.

Product Development

Low torque seal for hub units
-JTEKT Corporation has developed a low torque seal for hub units. Amid the trend toward reducing CO2 emissions and improving the cruising range of EVs, it is required that the hub unit has a lower torque. The seal’s renewed structure produces lower torque and increased durability under muddy water conditions. (From a press release on March 26, 2019)

Rare earth-free motor
-JTEKT Corporation (JTEKT) has developed a rare earth-free motor. Eliminating the use of rare minerals that are unevenly distributed can enhance the stability of material supplies and contribute to cost reduction. JTEKT will start production of the new motor at its Higashi Kariya Office (Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture) this month for the automotive component actuators it produces. The company intends to improve heat resistance to utilize the motor for electric power steering systems and electric oil pumps. The new motor is of the interior permanent magnet (IPM) type, which has a rotor with a bond magnet embedded in a U-shaped slot, and does not use neodymium and dysprosium. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 25, 2019)

Control-type magnetic bearings
-JTEKT Corporation (JTEKT) will enter the field of control-type magnetic bearings that are responsible for controlling the attraction of electromagnets and magnetically levitating rotors. On November 1, JTEKT jointly established a new company, TOYO Magnetic Bearing Co., Ltd., with MUTECS Incorporation, a magnetic bearing maker (Neyagawa City, Osaka). The new company will design, manufacture and sell magnetic bearings for industrial machines. JTEKT intends to add control-type magnetic bearings to its product lineup, and develop them as one of its primary sources of revenue. The new company aims to achieve sales of JPY 2.6 billion for the fiscal year that ends in March 2023. It has JPY 30 million in capital, and JTEKT owns 90%. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on December 15, 2018)

Cylindrical roller bearing with PPS case
-JTEKT has developed a new cylindrical roller bearing with PPS case. Compared to current products, the new bearing offers greater corrosion resistance and heat resistance. Compared with bearings with brass cage, the new bearing with PPS cages reduces bearing's total weight by approximately 11%, and also reduces starting torque by approximately 10%. Using for hydraulic components and compressors, the new bearing will contribute to reduce the weight of components and to improve efficiency. It will be manufactured at JTEKT's Tokushima and Kokubu plants and in its subsidiary Daibea. Sales of this product are expected to reach JPY 100 million per year. (From a press release on July 19, 2018)

Bearing for HVs
-JTEKT Corporation has developed a new bearing that meets an increase in the rotation speed of motors for hybrid vehicles (HVs). The bearing has a new structure in which two retainers in combination support balls from both sides. Compared to current products in which balls are supported only by a retainer on one side, the new bearing features retainers that are less apt to be deformed and offers reduced friction even if the motor turns at high speeds. The new product helps achieve a rotation speed that is 1.3 times higher than the speed attained by traditional products. Although the new bearing requires more parts than current products do, JTEKT anticipates that an improvement in the efficiency of motors for HVs and electric vehicles will create a need for the new product. The supplier is aiming to put it into practical use as soon as possible. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on April 16, 2018)

Mechanical Components
-In the fiscal year that ended in March 2018, the Company invested to increase and enhance facilities and equipment at production plants in all regions.

Investment in Japan

-JTEKT announced that its group company Utsunomiya Kiki has inaugurated a new manufacturing plant in Kiyohara Industrial Park, Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture and recently held the opening ceremony. The new plant has a site area of 45,980 square meters and a total floor area of 6,448 square meters. It will produce needle roller bearings for automobile engines and transmissions. (From a press release on August 21, 2018)

-Daibea Co., Ltd. (Daibea), a JTEKT Group company that manufactures bearings, announced that it will construct a second plant on land near its main Izumi Plant in Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture. Construction will begin in November 2018 with completion expected by October 2019. The second plant is scheduled to begin operations in December 2019. Daibea will invest JPY 700 million in this project. The company will start mass producing high-precision bearings for high performance robots and high-end machine tools, which it has not previously handled, at the new plant, while also conducting equipment development, repair and maintenance, and jig production. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on July 25, 2018)

Investment outside Japan

<Morocco>
-JTEKT Corporation (JTEKT) has held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of JTEKT Automotive Morocco S.A.S. (JAMO) and Fuji Autotech Morocco S.A.S. (FAMO). JAMO is JTEKT's first plant in Morocco, and FAMO is a plant of Fuji Kiko Co., Ltd., a JTEKT Group company. The ceremony was attended by about 30 people including JTEKT's President Tetsuo Agata and relevant local parties. JAMO will begin mass production of electronic power steering (EPS) systems in 2020, with an annual production capacity of 230,000 units. JTEKT will position JAMO as a new and competitive supply base primarily for Morocco and other North African markets. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on September 19, 2018)