MITSUBA Corporation Business Report FY2006
Business Highlights
Financial Overview
Domestic business
-The Company has decided to merge with its wholly owned subsidiary Jidosha Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd., effective April 1, 2007. The Company and Jidosha Denki Kogyo, having been closely working, have agreed on the merger to enhance their synergy as an integrated group and seek greater management efficiency. The Company will be the "surviving entity" under the provisions of Japanese Corporate Law following the absorption and merger of Jidosha Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd. and its subsequent dissolution. (From a press release by the company on Nov. 15, 2006)
Overseas
-North America
The Company and Ichikoh Industries, Ltd. have signed a joint venture agreement on the same day to manufacture automotive mirrors and other products in North America. The new joint venture, Ichikoh Mitsuba Inc. will be formed after the dissolution of Kentucky-based Ichikoh Manufacturing Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ichikoh. With operations scheduled to begin in February 2007, the joint venture will be capitalized at US$12 million (approximately 1.4 billion yen), 75% of which to be provided by Ichikoh and 25% by Mitsuba. It will manufacture mirrors and other parts in Shelbyville, Kentucky; sales and development office will be located in Novi, Michigan. To be headed by Edward Grenda and three other board members from Ichikoh and one from the Company, Ichikoh Mitsuba will initially take 214 employees. Sales target for fiscal 2007 is set at US$52 million. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Dec.19, 2006)
-Thailand
The Company announced that it will establish a new development facility in the suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand in December 2006. To be wholly owned by the Company, Mitsuba Asia R&D Co., Ltd., which will become the company' s sixth R&D center or the group fs ninth development foothold outside Japan, will start conducting R&D activities on motorcycle products as early as 2007, with possibilities of expanding into the automotive segment in the future. Noboru Abe, a director of the Company, will assume the presidency of the new facility. To be capitalized at 2 million dollars, the new R&D unit will commence operations in April 2007 with ten employees including two representatives from Japan. Targeting annual sales of 1 million dollars in 2009, Mitsuba plans to invest 1.1 million dollars in the new company, increasing the number of its staff to 23 by the same year. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Sep. 28, 2006)
-Taiwan
The Company will establish a new joint venture in China for manufacturing and marketing electrical components like motors for the automobile in partnership with a Taiwanese company, which manufactures and sells components for vehicles and motorcycles. A new Chinese joint venture company, which is called Mitsuba Shihlin Electric (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., is located in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and capitalized at 7 million dollars, shared 55% by the Company and 45% by the Taiwanese partner. The purpose of establishing the new facilities is to strengthen the Company's responsiveness to auto and auto parts makers spread along the Yangtze River valley. In China, the Company already has two production facilities in Guangzhou and Qingdao, and sales office in Hong Kong. The Wuhan facilities will be the Company's forth site in the country. The new company will be established in October, 2006. A personnel from the Company, although not yet nominated, is to assume a representative position at the Company. The number of employees will be 230 in 2012. The new company is expected to post sales of 4 billion yen in 2012 through manufacture and sales of wiper motors, fan motors and other electrical products. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Aug. 24, 2006)
| (in million JPY) | FY2006 | FY2005 | Rate of Change (%) | Remarks |
| Overall | ||||
| Sales | 216,200 | 216,463 | (0.1) | - Sales decreased at its domestic subsidiaries and its subsidiary in the U.S. |
| Operating income | 3,096 |
4,889 | (36.7) | - Operating income decreased year-on-year due to soaring materials prices and increased fixed costs for transportation and labor. |
| Ordinary income | 4,250 | 6,898 | (38.4) | - Ordinary income decreased from what it was last year, partly due to a loss incurred from negative exchange rate fluctuations |
| Current net income | (134) | 4,187 | - | - The Company failed to post a net income due to a larger extraordinary loss for write-offs of its subsidiaries' stock and other factors. |
| Transportation equipment related business | ||||
| Sales | 207,631 | 205,667 | 1.0 | - Sales of transportation equipment increased slightly year-on-year, supported by favorable sales at the headquarters and its U.S. subsidiary. The rise is also attributed to the addition of one domestic subsidiary and two Chinese companies to its consolidated financial statements. |
| Operating income | 2,716 | 4,207 | (35.4) | - Operating income at the transportation equipment business fell year-on-year due to soaring costs of materials. |
-The Company has decided to merge with its wholly owned subsidiary Jidosha Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd., effective April 1, 2007. The Company and Jidosha Denki Kogyo, having been closely working, have agreed on the merger to enhance their synergy as an integrated group and seek greater management efficiency. The Company will be the "surviving entity" under the provisions of Japanese Corporate Law following the absorption and merger of Jidosha Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd. and its subsequent dissolution. (From a press release by the company on Nov. 15, 2006)
Overseas
-North America
The Company and Ichikoh Industries, Ltd. have signed a joint venture agreement on the same day to manufacture automotive mirrors and other products in North America. The new joint venture, Ichikoh Mitsuba Inc. will be formed after the dissolution of Kentucky-based Ichikoh Manufacturing Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ichikoh. With operations scheduled to begin in February 2007, the joint venture will be capitalized at US$12 million (approximately 1.4 billion yen), 75% of which to be provided by Ichikoh and 25% by Mitsuba. It will manufacture mirrors and other parts in Shelbyville, Kentucky; sales and development office will be located in Novi, Michigan. To be headed by Edward Grenda and three other board members from Ichikoh and one from the Company, Ichikoh Mitsuba will initially take 214 employees. Sales target for fiscal 2007 is set at US$52 million. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Dec.19, 2006)
-Thailand
The Company announced that it will establish a new development facility in the suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand in December 2006. To be wholly owned by the Company, Mitsuba Asia R&D Co., Ltd., which will become the company' s sixth R&D center or the group fs ninth development foothold outside Japan, will start conducting R&D activities on motorcycle products as early as 2007, with possibilities of expanding into the automotive segment in the future. Noboru Abe, a director of the Company, will assume the presidency of the new facility. To be capitalized at 2 million dollars, the new R&D unit will commence operations in April 2007 with ten employees including two representatives from Japan. Targeting annual sales of 1 million dollars in 2009, Mitsuba plans to invest 1.1 million dollars in the new company, increasing the number of its staff to 23 by the same year. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Sep. 28, 2006)
-Taiwan
The Company will establish a new joint venture in China for manufacturing and marketing electrical components like motors for the automobile in partnership with a Taiwanese company, which manufactures and sells components for vehicles and motorcycles. A new Chinese joint venture company, which is called Mitsuba Shihlin Electric (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., is located in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and capitalized at 7 million dollars, shared 55% by the Company and 45% by the Taiwanese partner. The purpose of establishing the new facilities is to strengthen the Company's responsiveness to auto and auto parts makers spread along the Yangtze River valley. In China, the Company already has two production facilities in Guangzhou and Qingdao, and sales office in Hong Kong. The Wuhan facilities will be the Company's forth site in the country. The new company will be established in October, 2006. A personnel from the Company, although not yet nominated, is to assume a representative position at the Company. The number of employees will be 230 in 2012. The new company is expected to post sales of 4 billion yen in 2012 through manufacture and sales of wiper motors, fan motors and other electrical products. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Aug. 24, 2006)
R&D
R&D Expenditure
- Total R&D expenses for fiscal year 2006 (ended in Mar. 2007) was 658 million yen, of which 448 million yen was spent at the transportation equipment business.
Recent Development
- The Company is working on developing a new actuator system based on its core motor and control technology. The Company's development focus is also set on elemental technology.
- The Company is conducting research and development activities on system products to which advanced control technology, new sensor technology, and principles of driving are applied.
- Furthermore, the Company works jointly with external organizations such as universities and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba to conduct research.
-The Company adapted CAE analysis to its process design activities and die and equipment development activities, improving efficiency so as to become a leader in the industrial engineering field.
- In the area of resin molding, the Company developed dies made of new materials. These dies are optimally designed to achieve significantly high efficiency in terms of cooling. These dies allowed the Company to reduce the cycle time, which is needed for molding on its mass production lines, by half.
- For plastic forming, the Company started to manufacture major hot forming products in-house for ACGs by making some improvements in the forming process.
- The Company introduced a high-speed assembly line it developed in-house to perform commercial production. Development activities for the assembly process were carried out in line with the engineering of a new radiator fan motor.
- The Company is working on developing various kinds of system products as well as next-generation actuators, along with elemental technology in order to enhance the reliability of its products.
Major new products released in fiscal 2006
- Front/rear wiper systems
- Washer systems
- Horns
- Mirrors
- Lamps
- Power window motors
- Sunroof motors
- Seat motors
- Fan motors
- Starter motors for motorcycles and automobiles
- AC generators
- Fuel pumps
- Controllers
R&D Expenditure
- Total R&D expenses for fiscal year 2006 (ended in Mar. 2007) was 658 million yen, of which 448 million yen was spent at the transportation equipment business.
Recent Development
- The Company is working on developing a new actuator system based on its core motor and control technology. The Company's development focus is also set on elemental technology.
- The Company is conducting research and development activities on system products to which advanced control technology, new sensor technology, and principles of driving are applied.
- Furthermore, the Company works jointly with external organizations such as universities and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba to conduct research.
-The Company adapted CAE analysis to its process design activities and die and equipment development activities, improving efficiency so as to become a leader in the industrial engineering field.
- In the area of resin molding, the Company developed dies made of new materials. These dies are optimally designed to achieve significantly high efficiency in terms of cooling. These dies allowed the Company to reduce the cycle time, which is needed for molding on its mass production lines, by half.
- For plastic forming, the Company started to manufacture major hot forming products in-house for ACGs by making some improvements in the forming process.
- The Company introduced a high-speed assembly line it developed in-house to perform commercial production. Development activities for the assembly process were carried out in line with the engineering of a new radiator fan motor.
- The Company is working on developing various kinds of system products as well as next-generation actuators, along with elemental technology in order to enhance the reliability of its products.
Major new products released in fiscal 2006
- Front/rear wiper systems
- Washer systems
- Horns
- Mirrors
- Lamps
- Power window motors
- Sunroof motors
- Seat motors
- Fan motors
- Starter motors for motorcycles and automobiles
- AC generators
- Fuel pumps
- Controllers
Contracts for receiving technical support (as of Mar. 2007)
Contracts for giving technical support (as of Mar. 2007)
- Total R&D expenses for fiscal year 2006 (ended in Mar. 2007) was 658 million yen, of which 448 million yen was spent at the transportation equipment business.
Recent Development
- The Company is working on developing a new actuator system based on its core motor and control technology. The Company's development focus is also set on elemental technology.
- The Company is conducting research and development activities on system products to which advanced control technology, new sensor technology, and principles of driving are applied.
- Furthermore, the Company works jointly with external organizations such as universities and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba to conduct research.
-The Company adapted CAE analysis to its process design activities and die and equipment development activities, improving efficiency so as to become a leader in the industrial engineering field.
- In the area of resin molding, the Company developed dies made of new materials. These dies are optimally designed to achieve significantly high efficiency in terms of cooling. These dies allowed the Company to reduce the cycle time, which is needed for molding on its mass production lines, by half.
- For plastic forming, the Company started to manufacture major hot forming products in-house for ACGs by making some improvements in the forming process.
- The Company introduced a high-speed assembly line it developed in-house to perform commercial production. Development activities for the assembly process were carried out in line with the engineering of a new radiator fan motor.
- The Company is working on developing various kinds of system products as well as next-generation actuators, along with elemental technology in order to enhance the reliability of its products.
Major new products released in fiscal 2006
- Front/rear wiper systems
- Washer systems
- Horns
- Mirrors
- Lamps
- Power window motors
- Sunroof motors
- Seat motors
- Fan motors
- Starter motors for motorcycles and automobiles
- AC generators
- Fuel pumps
- Controllers
R&D Expenditure
- Total R&D expenses for fiscal year 2006 (ended in Mar. 2007) was 658 million yen, of which 448 million yen was spent at the transportation equipment business.
Recent Development
- The Company is working on developing a new actuator system based on its core motor and control technology. The Company's development focus is also set on elemental technology.
- The Company is conducting research and development activities on system products to which advanced control technology, new sensor technology, and principles of driving are applied.
- Furthermore, the Company works jointly with external organizations such as universities and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba to conduct research.
-The Company adapted CAE analysis to its process design activities and die and equipment development activities, improving efficiency so as to become a leader in the industrial engineering field.
- In the area of resin molding, the Company developed dies made of new materials. These dies are optimally designed to achieve significantly high efficiency in terms of cooling. These dies allowed the Company to reduce the cycle time, which is needed for molding on its mass production lines, by half.
- For plastic forming, the Company started to manufacture major hot forming products in-house for ACGs by making some improvements in the forming process.
- The Company introduced a high-speed assembly line it developed in-house to perform commercial production. Development activities for the assembly process were carried out in line with the engineering of a new radiator fan motor.
- The Company is working on developing various kinds of system products as well as next-generation actuators, along with elemental technology in order to enhance the reliability of its products.
Major new products released in fiscal 2006
- Front/rear wiper systems
- Washer systems
- Horns
- Mirrors
- Lamps
- Power window motors
- Sunroof motors
- Seat motors
- Fan motors
- Starter motors for motorcycles and automobiles
- AC generators
- Fuel pumps
- Controllers
Contracts for receiving technical support (as of Mar. 2007)
| Contractor Name | Name of other party |
Contract details | Contract Period |
| Mitsuba, Tokyo Electrica de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. |
Ichikoh Industries | Exercising the usage of patents and expertise in manufacturing automotive components in Mexico. | Between Dec.1993 and the time the Company discontinues production of related products |
| Mitsuba | Donnelly (USA) | License agreement on rearview mirror systems fixed on the body. This includes turn signal lights. | Between September 2005 and the time when the patent expires |
Contracts for giving technical support (as of Mar. 2007)
| Partner | Agreement Details | Contract Period |
| Mitsuba Corporation | ||
| Shihlin Electric & Engineering Corp.(Taiwan) | Production technology license and operational license for motorcycles / automobiles electric parts | From Aug. 1998 (automatic renewal) |
| Dongyang Mechatronics Corp. (Korea) |
Production technology license and operational license for automobiles electric parts | From Aug. 1999 (automatic renewal) |
| Jayahindo (India) |
Production technology license and operational license for motorcycle AC generators | Sep. 2001 - Sep. 2007 |
| Baroque Engineering (India) |
Production technology license and operational license for motorcycle AC generators | From Apr. 2001 (automatic renewal) |
| Armstrong Auto Parts Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) |
Production technology license and operational license for motorcycles/automobiles electric parts | From May 1992 (automatic renewal) |
| Thai Nikko Metal (Thailand) |
Production technology license and operational license for motorcycle horns | From May 1994 (automatic renewal) |
| Hybrid (Pakistan) |
Production technology license and operational license for motorcycle flasher relays | From Jan. 1992 (automatic renewal) |
| Valeo (France) |
Production technology license and operational license for automobile starter motors | From March 1989 (automatic renewal) |
| Bakony Muvek (Hungary) |
Production technology license and operational license for automobile wiper link motions | From Sep. 1998 (automatic renewal) |
| Pektron Ltd. (U.K.) |
Production technology license and operational license for automobile main relays and controllers. | From May 1991 (automatic renewal) |
| Jidosha Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd. | ||
| Kamco (Korea) |
Licensing of technology for wiper motors for automobiles | Feb. 2004 - Feb. 2008 |
| Kamco (Korea) |
Licensing of technology for power window motors for automobiles | May 2003 - May 2007 |
| Smith (South Africa) |
Licensing of manufacturing technology for wiper motors for automobiles | From Mar. 1979 (automatic renewal) |
| APM Auto (Malaysia) |
Licensing of technology for wiper motors and washers etc. for automobiles | Mar. 2001 - Mar. 2007 |
| Taizene Electric (Taiwan) |
Licensing of manufacturing technology for wiper motors, power window motors and door lock actuators etc. for automobiles | Jun. 2003 - Jun. 2008 |
| Deloyd (Malaysia) |
Licensing of manufacturing technology for power window motors and door lock actuators for automobiles | From Oct. 2001 (automatic renewal) |
Investment Activities
Capital Expenditure
Capital investment in FY2006 was 17,731 million JPY.
Out of the total amount, 17,452 million JPY was invested into mainly automobile power window motors, automobile wiper motors for transportation equipment and other such related business. Includes overseas subsidiaries.
Main facility construction projects (as of March 2007)
Note: The Tomioka Plant and Fukushima Plant belong to Jidosha Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd. (JIDECO), which the Company absorbed on April 1, 2007.
Capital investment in FY2006 was 17,731 million JPY.
Out of the total amount, 17,452 million JPY was invested into mainly automobile power window motors, automobile wiper motors for transportation equipment and other such related business. Includes overseas subsidiaries.
Main facility construction projects (as of March 2007)
| Name | Facility type | Planned investment amount (million JPY) |
Construction start month |
Planned completion month |
| Mitsuba | ||||
| R&D Center | Molds for new products Testing and development equipment, etc. |
1,850 | Apr. 2007 |
Mar. 2008 |
| Niisato Plant | Machines for new products | 392 | Jun. 2007 |
Mar. 2008 |
| Onishi Plant | Machines for new products | 220 | Apr. 2007 |
Jul. 2007 |
| Tone Plant | Machines for new products | 150 | May. 2007 |
Feb. 2008 |
| Tomioka Plant | Machines for new products | 205 | Apr. 2007 |
Mar. 2008 |
| Fukushima Plant | Machines for new products | 370 | Apr. 2007 |
Feb. 2008 |
| Head Office | Information equipment | 242 | Jun. 2006 |
Mar. 2008 |
| Domestic Subsidiaries | ||||
| Sun-You Corporation | Machines for new products | 200 | Mar. 2007 |
Aug. 2007 |