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| Aiming to form a manufacturing industrial cluster (MONODZUKURI corridor) through close regional collaboration |
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Forming an industry-university-government network for highly innovative fields by focusing on the regions where industries with a high potential concentrate, mutually and closely cooperating among the regions and among the fields, and making the entire Tohoku region an innovative region where sustainable creation is possible. |
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Three Exit industry areas: technologies related automobiles, semiconductor manufacturing equipments, medical-dentistry engineering collaboration, health and welfare
Four Technological areas: MEMS technology, optical industry, IT, nonferrous metal recycling |
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Entire Tohoku region (especially the area along Kitakami River, the wide Sendai area, the Yamagata and Yonezawa areas, and the wide Koriyama area) |
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Intelligent Cosmos Research Institute
URL: http://san-cluster.icr-eq.co.jp/
TEL: +81-22-279-8811 FAX: +81-22-279-8880 |
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Aomori Support Center
for Industrial Promotion, Tohoku
New Business Conference, Yamagata
Promotional Organization for Industrial Technology, Fukushima
Prefecture Industry Promotion Center |
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Since FY 2006, the Tohoku MONODZUKURI Corridor project has targeted seven technological and industrial areas and promoted the expansion and deepening of networks in ten industrial concentration areas in the Tohoku region.
Moreover, the project was changed in FY 2008 to focus on three exit industry areas and four technological areas, working towards fusion between areas and the formation of a comprehensive base for activities for all of these areas. |
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| The project is working towards the formation of a comprehensive base for activities for all of these areas, and is being implemented with an eye to fusion and synergies between them, to better promote the formation of a cluster unifying seven high-potential industrial and technological areas. |
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| The project includes an advisory board project that conducts the evaluation of marketability by experts and introduces to business partners, sales partnering efforts to support sales network expansion through the corporation with company veterans and other experts, and support for entering exhibitions on specialized fields in the metropolitan area to help develop the market. |
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| Efforts are made for collaboration towards commercialization through the MEXT's Knowledge Cluster Initiative and City Area Program held in the Tohoku region, and by promotional meetings and other convention. |
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The Tohoku MONODZUKURI Corridor project plan was revised last year, and with a focus on fusion between the exit industry fields of semiconductors, automobiles, and medical and healthcare devices and related technological fields, the project aims for the creation of new businesses and new products.
The regional economy is facing very hard times, but precisely because of this, I think it is important to nurture the seeds of business for the future and bring these to full commercialization, and we hope to bring together the activity vectors between related parties while fully utilizing the networks of other clusters to bolster innovation.
For this FY, we are fostering fusion between fields, and plan to build up a common activity platform that will enable the regional companies that are the core of the cluster. |
| Ikuro Shishido |
| General Cluster Manager, Tohoku MONODZUKURI Corridor |
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| (Results total to FY 2007) |
| Number of new products and new items of merchandise created: |
1,526 |
| Number of enterprises and ventures started: |
17 |
| Number of secondary enterprises started: |
1 |
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| Number of new businesses launched: 2,400 businesses in 5 years |
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Main Participants of the Project
Private companies (853 companies): Kitakamiseikou Co.,Ltd, Iwaki Diecast Co.,Ltd., Akita Adamant Co.,Ltd., Mems Core Co.,Ltd., Tohoku Electronic Industrial Co.,Ltd., inspec Inc., Hi-MECHA Co.,Ltd., kedc Co.,Ltd., YCC Information System Ltd., etc.
Related administrative organizations (28 organizations): Tohoku 6 prefectures, Hanamaki City, Hirosaki City, Sakata Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mizusawa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, etc.
Universities and public examination and research institutes (87 organizations): Tohoku University, Iwate University, Akita Research and Development Center, Yamagata Research Institute of Technology, Fukushima Technology Centre, etc.
Financial institutions (21 organizations): 77 Bank, Ltd., Michinoku Bank, Bank of Iwate, Ltd., Toho Bank, Ltd., Aomori Shinkin Bank, etc.
Business Incubators (1 facility): Kitakami Fundamental Technology Support Center
Others: Hirosaki Industry-University-Government
Collaboration Forum, Iwate Network System (INS) |
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| ACHIEVEMENT EXAMPLE 1 |
Sales partnering |
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| Bolstering extra-regional sales network expansion activities centered in the Tokyo metropolitan area |
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Overview
Organized with company veterans in Tokyo metropolitan area as sales partners, and with a focus on sales partnering efforts between them and Tohoku MONODZUKURI Manufacturing Corridor member companies, the project is supporting sales network expansion in the Tokyo metropolitan area (part of the "Small Business Innovative Products Purchase" Buy Venture Tohoku initiative).
In specific, this provides a comprehensive sales network expansion program that includes proposing strategies, implementing "awareness processes" that reflect marketing results in these strategies, and holding exhibitions in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Achievement
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Sales partner matching
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Examples of companies successfully expanding their sales networks
| Hi-So Co., Ltd.: e-Home Chart Economy (residence history data management system)
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| | Applications clarified, uptake increased by 30% |
| Akaneya Co., Ltd.: SA Construction (rain gutter reinforcement brackets) |
| | Range of application expanded, adopted by large general contractors, sales network expanding to broadly cover Kyushu Region |
| Atsystem Co., Ltd.: e-Messages (email distribution system with strong centralized access)
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| | Sales exceeding some 20 million yen, quintupling in two years |
| Keisokugiken Corporation: White Phone (intercom built into a mobile phone) |
| | Orders from large telecom companies and others boosted sales to more than 60 million yen in two years |
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Future developments
The project will work to expand its support activities, including expanding the list of sales partners, offering expert advice, and arranging business talks at partner exhibitions.
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| ACHIEVEMENT EXAMPLE 2 |
Examples of efforts in the industrial fields of medical and healthcare devices |
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| (1) Establishing the Tohoku Regional Medical Device Industry Support Board |
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Given the particularities of the medical device industry, the project established the Tohoku Regional Medical Device Industry Support Board (commonly known as the Support Board) as a combination of Corridor base organizations, local governments, and external experts, in order to support the commercialization of medical devices.
Centered on cluster manager Matsushita, the project has implemented support measures to discern medical facility needs, match those with regional companies, and foster links between medical device makers and regional companies.
In addition, the project has held training programs for Support Board members and bolstered the support functions of the base organizations, leading to developments such as a medical device research cooperative for all prefectures in the Tohoku Region. This has joined with the Support Board to help form alliances between regional companies. |
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Tohoku Regional Medical Device Industry Support Board
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| (2) Holding an information exchange meeting to support formation of a nationwide medical device industry cluster |
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As medical and healthcare device industry support is picking up around Japan from a center in the Tohoku Region, an information exchange meeting was held for the first time in November 2008 (at the same location as the Medical Creation Fukushima event) for people from around Japan supporting medical device industry clusters.
24 institutions (and more than 50 people) from around Japan participated, and the meeting provided the opportunity to gather the most recent information, exchange information about activities in different regions, and explore partnerships. This has led to a broad range of cooperation, including the Fukushima Prefecture government, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation holding business matching seminars. |
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Cluster supporter information exchange meeting |
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| ACHIEVEMENT EXAMPLE 3 |
Efforts in the IT field |
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| Expanding sales networks via a joint booth at the Embedded Technology (ET) trade show, the world's biggest in its field |
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Corridor member companies and embedded technology groups came together to represent the Tohoku MONODZUKURI Corridor at the Embedded Technology (ET) trade show, the world's biggest in this field.
The Corridor group has had a booth at the trade show for three years running, in order to expand sales networks, but also to engage in PR about the Tohoku Region as a center for embedded technology companies, to form networks both within and outside of the region, and to develop new products from partnerships between regional companies that join together to run the booth. The Corridor group was the first ever to twice receive an honorable mention at the ET 2008 show in the ET Awards for excellent booth presentations, and the group has received some award for three years running.
By joining together, the Corridor companies have reduced the amount of work needed for any single company to open a booth, and have substantially boosted the impact of exhibiting and of PR for the Tohoku Region as a whole.
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Business talks
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ET 2008 |
| | Joint exhibitions: 40 companies and groups
Booth visitors: Approximately 5,000 people
Business talks held: 17, for roughly 7.5 million yen
Anticipated talks: 71, for roughly 280 million yen
Likely effective business talks and/or new customers in future: 423
ET2006
Joint exhibitions: 22 companies and groups
Contracts: 31, for roughly 140 million yen
ET2007
Joint exhibitions: 29 companies and groups
Contracts: 153, for roughly 250 million yen
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