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19/27 World’s First Sheets and Materials Evolution from a sheet processing manufacturer
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00:25:46.0
I think there are some people who are coming here for the first time. So, first I will briefly touch on technological matters, then on the market, and finally on our investments for physical distribution. First of all, regarding technological matters, this pie graph indicates the weight percentage of the raw materials used in this industry. Please think of the total pie shown as a circle of about 750,000 tons. The PSP portion is shown on the right side, OPS is shown underneath it and HIPS is shown underneath that, indicating the portion consisting of the resin called polystyrene. The amount of this is about 450,000 tons, representing slightly more than half of the total amount. On the left side, PP, namely polypropylene, is shown. PET is shown underneath it. This industry started with trays that used a resin called polystyrene. Our trays, which you have on hand, are called PSP, or polystyrene paper, which is made from a raw material called PSP. PSP, which is shown in the upper right part of this material, has good moldability, is easy to foam and is very easy to handle. The resin, which has the special characteristic of being easy to foam, can be significantly lighter and can be produced very cheaply. The resin also has heat-insulating properties and can serve as a cushion, so it can protect products. Therefore, the resin is used for supermarket self-service items. However, the resin has weak points. One of these weak points is that it has no oil resistance. Therefore, if a drop of hot oil is put on this tray, it will be softened quickly. The resin is also believed to have no acid resistance. The resin is soluble in the juice of a mandarin orange, a citrus. Another definite weak point is that it has no heat-resistant properties. The resin can resist only up to 70 degrees. Therefore, I don’t think there are any consumers who believe this tray can be put in a microwave. Convenience stores began to appear in the 1980s. If their operators wanted to sell lunchboxes at their counters or, rather, wanted to sell lunchboxes after heating them in a microwave, this material could not be used, because it has no heat-resistant properties. Therefore, we tried to make lunchboxes by using a resin called polypropylene, which is shown on the left side. However, polypropylene, which has heat-resistant properties and oil resistance, is too soft to be molded. Therefore, an inorganic powdered substance called TULC was mixed with polypropylene to increase its density. After that, this product, which allows you to keep lunchboxes in a microwave, began to be produced. However, polypropylene, which is very good resin, has a weak point: it is difficult to foam. Polypropylene does not foam, so it has no heat-insulating properties. If polypropylene is put in a microwave as is, it can be kept within the microwave, but its bottom will become very hot, causing a possibility of a burn. However, polypropylene continued to be used because there was no other available material. We wanted to make polypropylene foam that had heat-insulating properties, or to lighten polypropylene. After researching this for more than ten years, we introduced New Histar into the market, which foams 3.5 times, yet only up to that. In the course of our research, we produced a raw material with heat-insulating properties and oil resistance using a resin called polystyrene for 80% of the raw materials, which we called Multi FP. Polystyrene, which is easy to foam, is used for 80% of the raw materials. Therefore, a lunchbox, which you have on hand, foams 15 times. Accordingly, the lunchbox has great heat-insulating properties and was made lighter. Since the lunchbox is lighter, it doesn’t use a lot of resin and can be manufactured at low cost. We can produce Multi FP far more cheaply than companies using polypropylene resin. The lunchboxes and containers are lighter, so customers’ container load is lessened. As a result, Multi FP has grown rapidly. That is one point that I want to make. As our Chairman said earlier, a molding loss equivalent to about 30% of the original quantity occurs during molding. Non-foaming sheets, such as the white one in your hands, can be produced using this molding loss. We can replace these non-foam PP TULC and foam PP foam containers with non-foam Multi Solids and foam Multi FP. Also, we are the only ones who have this sheet, which will greatly contribute to our differentiation. That’s another point. In addition, regarding lunchbox lids, every company besides us makes lunchbox lids by using a raw material called OPS. The “O” in OPS stands for “oriented.” OPS can be stretched in all directions. When stretched, its heat-resisting temperature will go up slightly, rising from 70 degrees to 80 degrees for polystyrene. Considering that, if its heat-resistant temperature is 80 degrees, OPS could be used as a lunchbox lid, and OPS has been used by our customers. As I said at the beginning, as a resin, OPS has a problem with oil resistance. Therefore, if a demiglace sauce or mayonnaise gets stuck to the lid and the lunchbox is put in a microwave, it will possibly create a hole in the lunchbox. Therefore, regarding hamburger lunchbox lids, etc. that the sauce might come into contact with, a sheet must be spread over the hamburger before putting on the lid to prevent a hole from being created or the sauce from sticking. This is how you use hamburger lunchboxes, etc. Meanwhile, actually in the 1980s, a resin called PET was developed, which is the resin that was developed the most recently. PET bottles came out in the 1980s. The PET resin is good, with strong oil resistance and acid resistance. However, it doesn’t have heat-resistant properties. I assume that you put gasoline or oil in a PET bottle without any doubt about it, because the PET resin is strong. However, if you put hot water in a PET bottle, it will become very soft. Its heat-resisting temperature is only 60 degrees. We made lids using PET due to its transparency. However, these lids were only made for sashimi and sushi containers, which would never be put in a microwave. It is well known that if PET is stretched in both directions, its heat resistance and intensity is increased. But molding it has been difficult to do. We started by inventing molding equipment, and became the first company in the world to develop a biaxially stretched PET sheet. This increased its heat-resisting temperature to 80 degrees, which is an appropriate temperature zone for lunchbox lids. We are now switching to this technology. We currently have only one extruding machine line, and can produce only about 400 tons, whereas we produce about 3,600 tons of OPS a month. Therefore, we have ordered a second line. To change all our lids will require four to five lines of this extruding machine. It will take two or three more years to install them. This is our current situation. Finally, regarding polypropylene, from which we make the heat-resisting body for our containers, the main reason why we couldn’t make lids from polypropylene was because polypropylene doesn’t become transparent. In the past, train passengers used to use a container in the shape of a small teapot to drink hot water or tea. The color of the container was the color of polypropylene, which is a milky white color. It did not become transparent. To make it transparent, we developed a new technology and, thus, created a transparent PP lid. However, it is still quite soft, and more research will be required to actually use it as a lid. Accordingly, we are providing you with food packs in the shape like this. This is made from the oil-resistant and heat-resistant resin called polypropylene. Therefore, it can be put in a microwave as-is. Food packs, which are frequently used by street stall keepers, are made from OPS. Therefore, those food packs can’t be put in a microwave as-is. I am sorry that I talked a bit too long. So, I won’t talk about the technology any more. What I want to tell you is that we have started to create sheets that have never been created before by the industry. Until quite recently, the entire industry could basically purchase the same materials. We bought them based on their design and color, and lastly their price. However, the situation has now changed. New sheets are currently made at a lower cost than before. If their quantity is increased, prices will be further discounted. That is the first point.
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