Building on its history and track record that originated in mine development, the Group has long provided technologies that support social infrastructure. Leveraging this foundation, we will pursue management that balances the resolution of social challenges with the enhancement of corporate value.

With an 80% share of the domestic market, the Furukawa Company Group’s tunnel drill jumbos are indispensable to the development of transportation networks in Japan’s mountainous regions. In recent years, mountain tunnel construction sites have faced challenges, such as labor shortages resulting from Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, as well as the need to improve safety in inherently hazardous work environments. Against this backdrop, expectations for the Group’s tunnel construction related products as a solution to these challenges are growing. Our products are in operation at various tunnel construction sites, including those for the Linear Chuo Shinkansen and the Hokkaido Shinkansen, and are expected to play an even greater role going forward.

Our ROBOROCK fully automatic drill jumbo and BOLTINGER rock bolting machine are officially registered in the New Technology Information System (NETIS) operated by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. These highly regarded technologies are eligible for bonus points in technical assessments during performance evaluations for public works projects and in comprehensive evaluation bidding processes.

Through automation and mechanization, the Furukawa Company Group helps improve safety, workability, and labor savings. At the same time, it provides products that help address social issues, such as national resilience, disaster prevention and mitigation, and the declining working-age population, thereby supporting infrastructure development.

Cranes are indispensable at civil engineering and construction sites where materials often need to be transported. However, traditional cranes and truck-mounted cranes cannot access and be used in confined or indoor areas to perform their lifting tasks. This is where our mini-crawler cranes come into play, combining ease of operation, safety, noise control, and environmental performance. Thanks to their compact bodies, they can enter and work in tight spaces, making them useful at indoor construction sites, museums, inside tunnels, cemeteries, and the like. Our lineup includes a range of cranes designed to meet various needs. For example, our non-rider models can move independently even in narrow access routes, while our rider models focus on lifting capacity. We also have battery-powered models that are environmentally friendly with zero emissions. Additionally, we have cranes suited for residential construction in tight alleyways, as well as disassembled models that can be transported by helicopter to remote or mountainous areas where equipment access is challenging. We remain committed to enhancing the safety and usability of our mini-crawler cranes and will continue developing environmentally friendly products and contributing to infrastructure development around the world.

In recent years, social challenges have emerged in the transportation of earth and sand at civil engineering and construction sites. These include difficulties in securing truck drivers due to the decline in Japan’s working-age population, as well as environmental issues, such as dust, noise, and CO₂ emissions from the frequent movement of dump trucks, which also affect the surrounding environment. In response, belt conveyors are gaining attention as a new method for transporting earth and sand. This approach offers multiple advantages, including reduced construction time, lower labor costs, avoidance of traffic congestion and accidents, consideration for the surrounding environment, and decreased CO₂ emissions.

Accordingly, they offer a promising alternative to dump trucks. One solution, sold exclusively in Japan by the Company, is the SICON^® enclosed hanging belt conveyor, which offers additional benefits beyond traditional belt conveyors. By enclosing the earth and sand in bags that are suspended from it like a monorail, SICON^® significantly reduces spillage, dust, and noise. Compared with regular belt conveyors, another key advantage is its ability to change direction without requiring transfer points, enabling the installation of highly efficient and space-saving conveyor lines customized to specific site conditions. These exceptional features have received acclaim, and SICON^® has been adopted for projects aimed at enhancing national resilience and disaster prevention, including new dam construction and river flood control works, with inquiries increasing as a result.

We will continue addressing social issues related to earth and sand transportation in future projects.

High-purity metallic arsenic is mainly used as a raw material for compound (gallium arsenide) semiconductors. These semiconductors are utilized in high-frequency electronic devices, as well as in red laser diodes (LDs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In the past, they were primarily used in communication equipment, DVD pickup lasers, red LEDs for traffic lights, and automobile tail lights. In recent years, metallic arsenic used for LD and LED applications has been increasingly replaced by lower-cost overseas products that do not require the same top-level purity. Accordingly, the Furukawa Company Group is focusing on supplying high-purity metallic arsenic (purity: 99.999995%) for cutting-edge technologies that require exceptional purity, such as high-speed communications and sensing technologies using high-output infrared LDs.

Among everyday applications, the most common use of our high-purity metallic arsenic is in high-frequency electronic devices, as it contributes to the advancement of high-speed communications in smartphones and communication base stations. Its use as a material for high-output infrared LDs has also been increasing in recent years. In addition, our high-purity metallic arsenic is used as a light source for Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems and contributes to technologies such as facial recognition and vehicle distance measurement for autonomous driving through infrared-based remote sensing. It is also used for measuring and monitoring crustal deformation caused by fault uplift and subsidence.