Takagi Mfg. Co., Ltd.
Shozo Takagi, President

Cheap machines in an aging company building, no sales representative, and two presidents in one company - a small factory like this is attracting the attention of researchers in and out of Japan these days.

Takagi Mfg. Co., Ltd. which is located in Hitachinaka city, Ibaragi prefecture, is a company which has been developing unique products by combining its foundation in the conventional technology of copper processing with new ideas and technologies. We asked Mr. Shozo Takagi, the company's president, about the business strategy of his company which has more than 200 customers, tripled its sales in 5 years, with a profit margin of more than 20%.

"Our company is full of employees who love to make something. If they are asked to make 10 pieces, they will make 11 and display the extra one on their desks..."

Shozo, the company's president, majored in western philosophy at the university. Although he says, "I am not good at making something, so the employees tell me to stay away from the products," and laughs, his unique business policy which draws upon western philosophy and classical Chinese literatures, transformed the company which was nearly put out of business into a noteworthy company.

Precision copper parts

Delicate copper processing craftsmanship is the basis

Water-cooled copper heatsinks

Facing bankruptcy by the oil crisis and the rising yen

The company was founded in 1947. Toru Takagi, Shozo's father and the currently chairman, started the company as a screw manufacturer. The company grew its business by mainly focusing on supplying parts to major manufacturers, and also undertaking plating of screws and processing of copper.

However, its business took a change for the worse when the oil shock occurred in 1973. Moreover, the high-yen recession which lasted through 1987 weighed heavily on the company's business, so much that its survival was in peril. The number of employees which was more than 200 at its peak was reduced to less than 50.

Reconstruction of the company started from here by Shozo and his older brother Masami Takagi, who was the other president and CEO. The older brother inherited his father's course and became in charge of manufacturing copper parts, which was the backbone of the company. The younger brother took a position to take on a challenge to new fields based on copper processing.

The product that emerged was the "Water-cooled copper heatsink" developed in 1990. Heatsinks are heat radiators. For small devices such as personal computers, air-cooled aluminum heatsinks are mainly used to cool the semiconductors, but they do not have sufficient capacity to cool large semiconductors for industrial use. Thus, the water-cooled heatsinks which make full use of the characteristics of copper such as high thermal conductivity, resistant to rust when it is in contact with water, and easy to join, become effective in this case.

Water-cooled copper heatsinks become hit products

"Thanks to this product, our company bounced back," said Shozo, the company's president. Currently, water-cooled copper heatsinks account for about 50% of the total sales. Although the company still deals mainly with copper today, taking steps from cutting and processing of copper toward research/development of heat-related products that use copper led to its recovery.

In 2004, the "Peltier electronic cooling unit" was developed. Peltier cooling is a phenomenon discovered by Peltier, a Frenchman, in which absorption or evolution of heat occurs when electrical current is being applied to the junction of two different metals or semiconductors.

By making use of this phenomenon, it becomes possible to cool or heat the object. Using copper which has a high thermal conductivity, the time to reach the desired temperature becomes short, and sufficient cooling effect can be obtained with low electric current.

Also, by applying Peltier cooling in reverse, temperature difference can be converted to electricity. This electric power generation method has been attracting attention in recent years as a next-generation renewable energy, and the company is embarking on its research and practical use as a promising field.

There are a number of reasons why the company's products are in high demand. Needless to say, it is due to the copper processing technology which it has been cultivating until now, but also because a series of processes such as cutting and brazing coating can all be completed within one company. Also, the company has a development capability to commercialize the customer's needs immediately.

"If you take each process, there are many other companies that can do the same as us, but our distinction is to combine them and increase the value. For example, a part machined from copper might sell for 1,000 yen, but it will sell at 10,000 yen if it is made into a heatsink, 100,000 yen if a Peltier unit is made, and furthermore, it will sell at one million yen if these items are built into a system."

Finding a new value by combining the existing technology and copper - all of the company's products are created from this idea.

Peltier electronic cooling units

Thermal electric generation unit that applied the Peltier phenomenon

Heater plates

From made-to-order production to catalog sales

The sales method is also unique. Industrial water-cooled copper heatsinks which are the company's main products are normally made to order, but standard products are offered here and sold through catalogs.

"If we make original products through made-to-order production, the unit prices will go up. We mass-produce standardized products and sell them at a low price to the customers, asking them to 'give it a try for now.' If the customer likes it and still wishes to get original products, we will design them."

Also, the sales approach has been changed. In the past, sales representatives visited one company after another with briefcases in their hands and asked if "there is any work that the company can help," but this has been discontinued, and various advertising media such as the homepage are now being used for advertisement and acceptance of orders.

By making good use of sponsored sites, their homepage is accessed about 5,000 times per month, which always leads to orders from 5 to 10 new customers, resulting in new orders from around 100 customers per year.

"Since my older brother has been in charge of the copper processing department that we had all along, I can take the risk and challenge to new fields," said Shozo, the company's president. Rather than the brothers contending to take the lead, the two presidents of the company will keep working as two wheels of one cart to create products with "copper" and "heat" as the keywords.

Takagi Mfg. Co., Ltd.:
Manufacturing of heat-related products based on copper processing

3433, Katsukura, Hitachinaka city, Ibaragi prefecture, Japan 312-0024
TEL：+81-29-272-4401
FAX：:+81-29-272-4403
Capital: 20.5 million yen
Employees: 85 people
http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~takagiss/