ICHIKOH INDUSTRIES,LTD. Business report FY2007
Business Highlights
| Financial overview | (in millions of JPY) |
| FY2007 | FY2006 | Rate of Change (%) | Factors | |
| Sales | 121,143 | 120,524 | 0.5 | -Sales volume increased, thanks to increased sales of existing products. |
| Operating income | 2,389 | 3,277 | (27.0) | -Operating income was down since material costs increased due to higher prices of oil; and since depreciation costs saw an increase due to a change in the Company's accounting system. |
| Ordinary income | 2,565 | 4,162 | (38.4) | |
| Net income | 3,238 | (900) | - | -The Company gained some income from carrying out its obligations under the National Pension Plan as part of its employees' pension fund. |
R&D
R&D Structure
-The Company has its Technical Center in its Isehara Plant.
R&D Expenses
-R&D expenses for FY2007 were 5,900 million yen.
R&D Area
Lighting equipment and signals
1) Highly functional automotive lighting equipment suited to meet car designs.
2) Research on situation-sensitive light distribution properties and evaluation systems.
Ichikoh light distribution simulation system
3) Development of high-definition automotive signals.
4) Development of new light sources.
View-related Devices
1) Development of nescience prevention mirror system.
2) Development of view-related systems, utilizing functional thin membranes, electronics, etc.
3) Development of car control systems and control devices.
4) Development of vehicle perimeter sensing and security devices.
Opto-mechatronics
1) Development of display devices using new light sources such as LED.
2) Development of multiple transmission systems for motor vehicles
3) Development of mechatronics devices utilizing membrane/precision molding technologies.
Product Development Activities
-The Company has developed an ultra silent storage unit for electric foldaway mirrors, which contributes to reducing 90 percent of the mirror operating noise. The Company aims to supply this new product to global OEMs, which are manufacturing hybrid vehicles that offer a silent start-up, and high-end passenger models. The reduction was achieved by a series of improvements made in the unit, including revamping the motor design and raising the level of gear precision. The noise level offered by the new storage unit is equal to that of a whispery voice, which is 15-decibel lower than existing types of silent door mirrors. The Company says that this results in 60 to 70 percent reduction in noise based on a human auditory sense. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May.1, 2007)
Major technical assistance agreements (As of March 2008)
| Department | Functions |
| R&D | Development of advanced technologies |
| Engineering | Development of technologies that enable new products and value to be created |
| Production Engineering | Development of products that reach commercialization |
-The Company has its Technical Center in its Isehara Plant.
R&D Expenses
-R&D expenses for FY2007 were 5,900 million yen.
R&D Area
Lighting equipment and signals
1) Highly functional automotive lighting equipment suited to meet car designs.
2) Research on situation-sensitive light distribution properties and evaluation systems.
Ichikoh light distribution simulation system
3) Development of high-definition automotive signals.
4) Development of new light sources.
View-related Devices
1) Development of nescience prevention mirror system.
2) Development of view-related systems, utilizing functional thin membranes, electronics, etc.
3) Development of car control systems and control devices.
4) Development of vehicle perimeter sensing and security devices.
Opto-mechatronics
1) Development of display devices using new light sources such as LED.
2) Development of multiple transmission systems for motor vehicles
3) Development of mechatronics devices utilizing membrane/precision molding technologies.
Product Development Activities
-The Company has developed an ultra silent storage unit for electric foldaway mirrors, which contributes to reducing 90 percent of the mirror operating noise. The Company aims to supply this new product to global OEMs, which are manufacturing hybrid vehicles that offer a silent start-up, and high-end passenger models. The reduction was achieved by a series of improvements made in the unit, including revamping the motor design and raising the level of gear precision. The noise level offered by the new storage unit is equal to that of a whispery voice, which is 15-decibel lower than existing types of silent door mirrors. The Company says that this results in 60 to 70 percent reduction in noise based on a human auditory sense. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May.1, 2007)
Major technical assistance agreements (As of March 2008)
| Company Name | Country | Technology | Coverage | Contract Period | |
| From | To | ||||
| Anpas Industries | Thailand | Manufacturing technologies for automotive lamps and rear view mirrors | Licensing of patents and expertise | Apr. 15, 1997 | April 14, 2008 (yearly automatic renewal from then on) |
| Tokyo Electrica de Mexico | Mexico | Manufacturing technologies for automotive lamps and rear view mirrors | Licensing of patents and expertise | Nov. 21, 1997 | Until sales of products are ended |
| FIEM Industries | India | Manufacturing technologies for rear view mirrors | Licensing of expertise | Nov. 11, 2005 | Nov. 10, 2010 (yearly automatic renewal from then on) |
| Valeo Sylvania L.L.C. | U.S.A. | Manufacturing technologies for automotive lamps | Licensing of patents and expertise | Feb. 18, 2008 | Until sales of products are ended |
Investment Activities
-In FY2007, capital investment was 2,144million yen for the automotive
components business.
New equipment installment (Manufacturing equipment for automotive
components)
| Plant | Location | Estimated amount of investment (million yen) | Project Period | Percentage of capacity increase (%) | |
| From | To | ||||
| Isehara Plant | Kanagawa Pref., Japan | 1,107 | Apr. 2008 | Mar. 2009 | 6 |
| Mirror Plant | Gunma Pref., Japan | 2,264 | Apr. 2008 | Mar. 2009 | 22 |
| Fujioka Plant | Gunma Pref., Japan | 882 | Apr. 2008 | Mar. 2009 | 5 |
| Oizumi Plant | Gunma Pref., Japan | 193 | Apr. 2008 | Mar. 2009 | 2 |
| Nakatsugawa Plant | Gifu Pref., Japan | 1,150 | Apr. 2008 | Mar. 2009 | 20 |