Daitō City, Osaka, Japan
Osaka Castle (Ōsaka-jō), which began construction in 1583, stands tall on a hill near the center of Osaka—a symbol of the unification of Japan. Just beyond its carefully tended gardens, the downtown Osaka skyline rises. Osaka is the home of research and development centers, global electronics manufacturers with familiar names, busy waterways, and neon-lined streets. Together they tell a story of a place where generations of tradition meet an optimistic vision of the future.
Just to the east of downtown Osaka is Daitō City, home of Finetech. Founded in 1985 by Finetech President & CEO Yoshio Kawabata, who had a vision while working at a carburizing heat-treating company. Yoshio came to believe that vacuum furnace heat-treating was going to play an important role in the future of the industry. “At the time, Osaka was a major manufacturing hub for home electronics makers such as Sharp and Panasonic, so it was an ideal place to build a vacuum heat-treatment business,” explained his son, current Finetech Sr. Managing Director Kenichi Kawabata.
Yoshio Kawabata’s commitment to vacuum furnace technology in 1986 led to processing press dies and developing ceramic coatings. Hard work and forward thinking paid off as Finetech became an award-winning small and medium enterprise partner in research and development by the turn of the millennium.
Today, Kenichi Kawabata continues to be inspired by his father’s vision. Finetech is pursuing the future by investing in the heat-treating technology necessary for the high-tech aerospace and aviation industries. Along the way, they have counted on Ipsen to help them achieve their goals.
Followed Footsteps
Kenichi Kawabata found inspiration in his father’s dedication to his company from the time he was in middle school. “I watched him work tirelessly, and that naturally made me feel that I wanted to support his work and the company,” Kenichi recalled. “That experience became the starting point of my interest in materials science and heat treatment.”
After graduating from university and working at a general trading company for seven years, Kenichi joined Finetech in 1998. “I was responsible for developing a new business in ceramic coating. We offered coatings aimed at improving wear and seizure resistance for mold and tool makers who use vacuum heat treatment. By combining coating and heat treatment, we created a strong synergy and achieved steady growth – especially in the automotive sector where mass production is required.”
As Kenichi progressed into a leadership role at Finetech, he looked to the sky for the next emerging market opportunity. “I became convinced that aerospace parts would be a key future market, and we entered that field in 2012.”
Aerospace is an industry with very strict quality demands. Kenichi and his team sought partners that knew how to navigate the rigorous standards to help Finetech build a successful program. Finetech reached out to Ipsen Japan in early 2020, looking for support resources for Nadcap procedure support.
“Yoshio had visited Ipsen’s Cherry Valley plant, gaining a good impression of the equipment and technical expertise of the team,” explained Janusz Kowalewski, Ipsen’s Sales Director for Southeast Asia. “Ipsen Japan was instrumental during the installation and providing technical support throughout start-up and operation.”
Kenichi Kawabata and Janusz Kowalewski
Ipsen Japan Service Team
“As we pursued JIS Q 9100 certification and AMS 2750 compliance, we learned that Ipsen furnaces were well suited to AMS 2750 requirements. We introduced an Ipsen T2T furnace in 2015. The furnace also made strict and regular process control tests such as TUS and SAT easier, which supported our certification by a major heavy-industry manufacturer.”
— Kenichi Kawabata, CEO, Finetech, Daitō City, Osaka, Japan
Ipsen Turbo2Treater (T2T) vacuum furnace at Finetech
“Ceremony to Start Fire”
Preparing for Future Success
Even with a disruption to the economy during the pandemic, Finetech kept their sights on the future. In 2022 they added a TITAN H6 furnace, anticipating a rebound in the aviation industry.
“As expected, orders for aerospace parts from major heavy-industry manufacturers have resumed,” Kenichi observed. At the same time, demand has been rising from the defense sector as a shift in global influence led to changes in Japan’s security protocols. An increase in space transportation—competing space programs launching new satellites and payloads—has led to increased demand for Finetech’s certified heat-treating services.
“The application of metal additive manufacturing parts also continues to expand, and heat treatment demand for these components is growing accordingly. Our two AMS 2750-compliant Ipsen vacuum furnaces are now approaching full utilization,” Kenichi noted.
Kenichi values the resources that Ipsen offers as he looks to growing the company’s capacity for new business.
“We have worked with Ipsen since 2014. Their insights on the latest heat-treatment trends in Europe and the U.S. are extremely helpful for our future business development in Japan. In addition, Ipsen’s IoT solutions, such as VacuProf and PDmetrics, provide unique value that significantly improves our productivity.”
For more information about how Ipsen can help your company meet strict industry-specific heat-treating standards, contact sales@ipsenusa.com.