[Company analysis] The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. (日本製鋼所)

「The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. (日本製鋼所)」 is a company that manufactures various kind of products such as steel plates, forged products, cast products, plastic injection molding machines, railway vehicle related products, tanks and cannons for battleships. During World War II, they manufactured the famous battleship "Yamato-class battleship(大和型戦艦)". The number of consolidated employees is approximately 5,174.

 

1. Company Profile

2. Summary and Features

3. Major Business

4. Financial Information

 

 

 

1. Company Profile

 

※Unit is JPY million, as of 2019

Company name	The Japan Steel Works, Ltd.
Company name (Japanese)	日本製鋼所
Date of establishment	Friday, November 1, 1907
Headquarters location	〒141-0032 東京都品川区大崎1丁目11番1号
Capital	19,737
Consolidated sales	220,153
Consolidated operating profit	24,290
Consolidated total assets	305,471
Consolidated capital	129,827
Capital adequacy ratio	42.5%
Consolidated number of employees	5,174

 

 

 

2. Summary and Features

 
At the time of the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese government, who felt the need for domestic production of weapons, established the「Japan Steel Works(日本製鋼所)」by using the profits of the sale of the nationalized railway. In order to manufacture the weapons domestically, there is necessary to introduce technology from developed countries. So they decided to made contract with「Sir WG Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., Ltd.」and 「Vickers Sons and Maxim Ltd.」through「Mitsui Group」. So in 1907, the first factory of「Japan Steel Works」was built in Hokkaido.

After World War II, this company were dissolved for a period of time, but shortly thereafter, it resumed business activities based on the assets and personnel of the old company. Utilizing the metal forging and casting technologies accumulated in the manufacturing of weapons up to that time, they managed to manufacture not only military weapons but also special forged and cast products for power plants and chemical plants, and steel pipe products used for natural gas development.

As for industrial equipment-related products, their main business is plastic manufacturing and processing equipment. Especially in plastic injection molding machines,「Japan Steel Works」is evaluated as the world's No. 1 manufacturer. In addition, this company has the technology to manufacture a pressure vessel for a reactor composed of a single part without welding in order to prevent the risk of radiation leakage.  And there are only five companies in the world can do this.

However, after the "2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami(東日本大震災)",  sales for nuclear power generation and energy-related steel products was sharply fell, and sales of other products were declined. In particular, the forging and casting departments, which were their main businesses, were in the red. Still, their capital adequacy ratio was  high, so the company continued to maintain a surplus in total. 

 

 

 

3. Major Business

 

■ Machinery business

■ Molding machine business

■ FPD business

■ Defense related business

■ Raw material. Energy business

 

 

 

4. Financial information

 

※Unit is JPY million

		2016	2017	2018
Consolidated sales		212,469	212,957	220,153
Consolidated operating profit		12,340	21,318	24,290
Consolidated total assets		275,315	297,433	305,471
Consolidated net assets		107,587	118,600	129,827
Breakdown of sales	Materials and Energy business	51,207	40,891	41,251
	Industrial machinery business	159,378	170,267	173,648
	Real estate and other business	1,883	1,797	5,252