Developing original products using our core technology combined with analytics

The technologies that support NAMICS' competitiveness consists of two core technologies, namely, the combination of materials and process technologies including the mixing and dispersion of materials and the development of facilities for that purpose, and the proprietary material technologies obtained through the development of additives, fillers, resins, etc., in addition to the evaluation technologies and analytics such as analysis and simulation. Based on these, we are speedily creating insulating materials, conductive materials, film materials, etc. meeting the customer needs and market requirements.

As the system of development, we separate the department aiming for the development of essential technologies and the department researching with a grasp of the mid- to long-term market needs to create future businesses. This separation shortens the development time and prevents duplication of research tasks, connecting to our pursuit of efficiency. Approximately 100 potential inventors are involved in the development in these departments, of whom 77% have applied for patents as the lead inventors. In addition to our main products, encapsulants and conductive paste, we have also focused on developing adhesives which can be cured at a low temperature in a short time, and we have been enriching the lineup in recent years.

The era of the birth of an R&D-oriented DNA

Development at NAMICS is performed by combining materials with different characteristics and sometimes doing in-house processing to create products that are most suitable for the needs. In addition to the theory, knowledge, and skills, it also needs constant and persistent searching. Not detesting that but doing it speedily -- such a DNA for development started to work at NAMICS in the 1980s. Through an existing customer, pursuing the development of an ultra-thin calculator, consulted us, whether a product could be used to coat semiconductors, which acted as the trigger.
At that time, it was common to cover IC chips with an insulating resin suitable for semiconductors. But this cannot realize the desired thinness. Therefore, we came up with the idea that defied the conventional wisdom of the industry. Utilizing our technology of making insulating paints, we applied it directly to the IC chip, giving it the function of a protective cover. The development department started to propose ideas and create new samples every week, with the determination, "We must win this!" Over the multiple cycles of improvement, about one year later the submission took place. The 58th sample was finally adopted. This sample has come to get practical application as a liquid encapsulant for semiconductors applications known as "CHIPCOAT," and from this, the existence of NAMICS became widely known.

An attitude to embody potential needs

Almost all of NAMICS' products are custom-made. How much we can meet individual customer needs is directly linked to customer satisfaction. For that, it is necessary not only to grasp the needs and issues accurately but also, at times, to embody the potential demands of the customers' manufacturing processes and line design. The high-level of skills of our technicians to accurately translate the needs of our customers who speak in electrical and electronics terminology to the terminologies of material technology and chemistry necessary for real products, is also something that has been cultivated over the 72 years of our history.

We analyze the trends and background of the needs and anticipate future changes by reading ahead from the information from component manufacturers and assembly manufacturers who are our customers, as well as the trends of the industry and the related technologies. In parallel with the needs, or, rather, leading it, we commit to contribute to the innovation of manufacturing in Japan using both innovative and flexible technologies.