About Our Divisions
Engineering Department
We accurately identify the needs of the times and provide cutting-edge materials.
Modern society has a strong demand for environmentally conscious products (energy-saving products such as electric vehicles and hybrid cars, and products that make use of recycling technologies). In Japan, there is also a rapid shift toward an aging society and welfare-oriented society, which is driving product development in areas such as compact commuter vehicles and nursing and care robots.
Santoku has consistently been a materials supplier specializing in cutting-edge materials, creating a wide variety of products throughout its history. The demand for materials required in advanced applications remains high, and we continue to develop products while accurately identifying the needs of the times, with the mission of providing higher-performance and higher-value-added materials.
Technology Development Timeline
Santoku holds approximately 100 patents in Japan and approximately 200 patents overseas.
| 1937 | Began manufacturing ferroalloys such as ferromolybdenum and ferrovanadium. |
|---|---|
| 1938 | Began manufacturing ferrotungsten, ferrotitanium, and metallic chromium. |
| 1943 | Began manufacturing metallic calcium. |
| 1946 | Successfully developed molten salt electrolysis technology for rare earth chlorides, industrialized it, and began manufacturing lighter flints. |
| 1949 | Manufactured alumina powder for thermite using the atomization method. |
| 1956 | Established a large-scale mass production system for misch metal. |
| 1959 | Introduced a 3 kg high-frequency vacuum melting furnace. |
| 1961 | Introduced a 50 kg high-frequency vacuum melting furnace. |
| 1972 | Became the world's first to successfully produce misch metal using the molten salt oxide electrolysis method. |
| 1979 | Industrialized samarium production by thermal reduction distillation. |
| 1981 | Mass production of samarium cobalt magnet alloys. |
| 1986 | Began mass production of neodymium-iron-boron magnet alloys. |
| 1989 | Industrialized samarium production by thermal reduction distillation (targeting samarium cobalt magnet alloys). |
| 1990 | Began manufacturing and selling rare earth nickel-based hydrogen storage alloys. |
| 1992 | Obtained a patent for the strip casting method. |
| 1999 | Began production of compound for bonded magnets. |
| 2000 | Began mass production of cathode active materials for lithium secondary batteries. |
| 2004 | Began production and sales of lithium foil. |
| 2011 | Received the "Rare Metal Utilization Industry Advancement Subsidy" for "Reducing the amount of rare earth oxides used in co-catalysts for automotive three-way catalysts for exhaust gas purification." |
| 2012 | Began joint research under the NEDO "Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Practical Application Promotion Technology Development" project for "Development of anion-conducting inorganic layered oxide fuel cells." |
| 2014 | Conducted commissioned research on "Methods for extraction and recovery of rare earths" as part of JOGMEC's commissioned survey "Deep-sea resource basic survey project" / "Survey on development technology for beneficiation and smelting of rare earth sediments." |
| 2017 | Conducted commissioned research under the NEDO project "Research and Development of Recycling Technologies for Building Highly Efficient Resource Circulation Systems." |
| 2023 | Conducted commissioned research under the NEDO project "Development of Rare Earth Separation and Purification Technology from Parts and Materials." |