R&D Organization

Our R&D and manufacturing departments collaborate closely to advance product and process development. The Corporate Strategy Division provides support by planning medium- and long-term business strategies, while the Marketing Division analyzes market, product, and technology trends, promotes innovations, and disseminates information to secure and meet the needs of our customers. The Intellectual Property Division focuses on researching, acquiring, and leveraging intellectual property rights. We are also strengthening our development capabilities by incorporating computational science, including ICT and AI, and by fostering collaborations with universities, research institutes, and companies—both domestic and international—that excel in the specialized fields of expertise and technologies.

Our R&D efforts are spearheaded by three core groups: the Fundamental Technology Division, the Research & Development Group, and the Process Development & Engineering Group. The Fundamental Technology Division focuses on essential research in glass science, including structural analysis, strength, and high-temperature melting. The Research & Development Group and Process Development & Engineering Group apply scientific methods to design, develop, and evaluate both materials and processes. By building on these core technologies, we fully harness the unique properties of glass to enhance its functionality, driving the creation of next-generation products that meet society’s evolving needs over the medium and long term.

Our manufacturing teams work closely with R&D to develop innovative products and refine manufacturing processes and technologies, contributing to growth across all business sectors. A primary focus is to maintain and improve process technologies while leveraging them to further enhance the functionality of glass.

We focus on developing and refining three core technologies: material design, manufacturing processes, and evaluation techniques. Our material design is driven by research into the fundamental properties of glass and new processes. We advance manufacturing process technology through simulations and research into melting and clarification mechanisms. Additionally, we develop innovative evaluation techniques, leveraging state-of-the-art analysis and measurement methods.

Our product and process design is tailored to meet the specific needs of various applications, utilizing our core technologies to ensure optimal performance and functionality.

In our pursuit of carbon neutrality by 2050, we are developing CO₂-free fuel technologies, which include implementing company-wide all-electric glass melting and demonstrating glass melting using combustion technology with a hydrogen-oxygen burner, while also integrating renewable energy sources into our processes. Additionally, we are expanding the possibilities of glass through innovations such as curved surface molding using specialized heat sources and precision machining with laser technology.

We are committed to developing novel glass products with unprecedented properties, while also pursuing research to drive new business opportunities in sectors such as energy, medical care, the environment, and food. These efforts align with our EGP 2028 medium-term business plan.

Our R&D activities are closely integrated with our manufacturing operations, conducted at three "P&P Technology Centers" across Japan. “P&P” stands for “Process and Product,” reflecting our belief that developing innovative technologies and processes is essential to success. The results of these efforts are directly reflected in the high quality of our products.