Special Feature

CSR Report
Corporate Social Responsibility Report2017Creating connections

Nikkeikin
The NLM Group has a variety ofconnections with people throughaluminum and will continue tocreate connections in the future.

1
Connecting through technologies,
connecting with technologies

Nikkei Research and Development Center, the core of Team NLM

FSW Technology

12Connecting smiling faces

through a comfortable breeze

Providing a comfortable living environment inSoutheast Asia

Aluminum heat exchanger

3Connecting people
through logistics

The 2.3- meter length created from customer
partnerships

Full-length trailer truck2SpecialFeature1
Connecting throughtechnologies,
connecting withtechnologies

Connecting Japan and the world by offering comfortable trips through connecting technologies
underpinned by the worldʼs number one patent-related comprehensive capabilities※1.
Toward an advanced tourist destination country
Japan has a target of hosting 40 million inbound foreign
tourists in 2020 when the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic
Games will take place and 60 million in 2030.
To ensure that foreign tourists enjoy sightseeing

throughout Japan, smooth and comfortable domestic travelis important. In particular, the Shinkansen bullet trains thatprovide long-distance, high-speed passenger transportation
are expected to play a prominent role.
The NLM Group will meet these expectations byconnecting cross-sectoral development activities, search
activities for sharing within the Group information
about customer needs, and activities of the sales andmarketing, development and manufacturing sections,which will be supported mainly by Nikkei Researchand Development Center.

Believing that reducing the weight of rolling stock throughthe change of its materials to aluminum will contribute to
the enhancement of transportation capacity, we have been working
with our clients, the railcar manufacturers, to improve therolling stock.

Breathtaking performances of the Shinkansen• Annual passenger volume: Approximately 400 million
persons※2• Total extension: 3,000 kilometers• Total distance traveled: 12 times around the earth in one
day※3 (460,000 kilometers)
Source※ 1 : Patent Result Co., Ltd.
※ 2 : Annual Report on Survey on Rolling Stock Transport (Ministry of Land,Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)※ 3 : JTB Time Table April 2016 edition (weekdays. Includes extra trains.)

FSW technology
Patent-relatedcomprehensiveWorldʼs numbercapabilities1※１

Carrying the FSW technology

The Hokuriku Shinkansen E7 series(photograph supplied by East Japan Railway Company)

3

FSW is a technology for joining two pieces of aluminum by inserting in
the butt welding portions a tool that rotates and agitates the metal to bejoined. Compared to conventional welding, this technology has
advantages such as high intensity, less distortion, flat and smoothjoining area and good exterior appearance. As a result, all rolling stockof the Shinkansen is now made of aluminum. In addition, the double
skin structure that started to be applied to the Tokaido Shinkansen 700
Series strengthened sound insulating and stiffness properties andcreated more comfortable space inside the trains. The aluminummaterials in double skin structure are manufactured by Nikkei Niigata
Co., Ltd.

Currently, the FSW technology is widely used in theConnecting a variety of products through the FSW

manufacture of railway cars, making it an essentialtechnology. The NLM Group connects Japan and theAluminum is a synonym for eco-friendly material because ofits energy-saving property, which helps reduce the weight ofautomobiles and railway cars. However, to achieve thecharacteristics of multiple materials that enable themanufacture of more complex shapes and larger structures,
Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd. recognized from early on
the importance of joining technology.
Having quickly focused on the FSW technology, aworld using this technology so that all tourists cantravel in comfort.

Competitive situation relating to FSW technology※
1200

Size of circle: Number of valid patentparticularly outstanding joining technology, the Company
entered into a license agreement with the Welding Institutein England that developed the technology, and workedtoward practical application.
In the initial stage, development efforts were targeted atRight holder score

1000
Comprehensive capabilities

800

Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd.

600
4002000

Individual capabilities
5055606570

Patent score highest value※Data by Patent Result Co., Ltd

758085joining railway cars. Currently, the FSW technology isessential in various
products, large andsmall, including an
aluminum bridge deckand liquid coolingjacket for personalcomputers.

Aluminum bridge deck

Joining the metal using the FSW technology

A research laboratory

Liquid cooling jacket for personal
computers4

Connecting smilingfaces throughcomfortable winds

SpecialFeature2
All aluminum heat exchangers expand comfortable living environments and connect peopleʼs smiling faces.
In addition, electricity prices are rising significantly, as has

Demand for household air conditioners andpower problem
In

many

regionsofSoutheast

Asia,

been seen in Thailand where the electricity rate rose as muchas 45% in the 15 years from 2000 to 2015※. To overcome

themaximum temperature is over 30°C throughout theyear so that the need for household air conditioners ishigh. However, there are many issues that impede their
popular use. One is the power problem. Thepower generation infrastructure is still insufficientand demand for electricity for industrial use isrising with economic growth. Widespread use of air
conditioners that consume large volumes of electricity
will likely lead to power shortages.

Changes in electric power charges in Thailand※（Baht／kWh）
5.5

5.0

4.5

these problems, the NLM Group will contribute to facilitatingwider use of energy-saving air conditioners.
※ Electricity Situations and Government Policies in the Countries in Asia and Oceania(Japan External Trade Organization)

Development of an all-aluminum heat exchanger forenergy-saving air conditioners
The cool air from an air conditioner is created by a heatexchanger built in the device. Most conventional heatexchangers for air conditioners were made of combinations
ofcopperandaluminum.
NipponLight Metal
Company, Ltd. worked to find practical application for thetechnology used in all-aluminum heat exchangers, which
was already being used in car air conditioners.
Although stricter corrosion resistance was required due todifferences in the usage environment, the comprehensive
capacity as Team NLM helped us overcome this problem
and achieve practical application of all-aluminum heatexchangers in household air conditioners as well as animprovement in heat exchange ratio of approximately 30%
compared to conventional heat exchangers.

4.0

3.5
10
2
2000 02

603

1004

206

607

1008

110

511

512913※「Electricity Situations and Government Policies in the Countries in Asia and Oceania(Japan External Trade Organization)

51 （Month）
15（Year）

Heat
exchange
ratio30%↑

Comment from person in charge

Making more living environments comfortable
Electricity expenses for the operation of air conditioners
were curbed in proportion to the improvement in the heatexchange ratio. Meanwhile, the higher efficiency enabled
downsizing of the heat exchanger so that air conditioners
can be installed in apartments in urban areas withinsufficient space for installing the outdoor unit. In
addition, favorable effects in preventing contagious
diseases that are peculiar to semitropical regions, such as
Dengue and Malaria that are transmitted to humans by thebite of a mosquito are expected.
The NLM Group will continue to expand comfortableliving environments and connect peopleʼs smiling faces.
Number of Malaria cases in Thailand（Number of cases）

I engage in sales of heat exchangers
to electronic manufacturers thathave manufacturing bases inSoutheast Asian countries.
We have difficulties inSoutheast Asian countries thatare different from those in Japan,such as the fact that the length ofKensuke Kondo,
rainy seasons and political
General Manager, Sales Department,changes have direct impact on
Nikkei Siam Aluminum Ltd
sales volumes.
Through the widespread use of heat exchangers withhigh energy-saving effects, I have been able to help makepeopleʼs living environments more comfortable inSoutheast Asia and have been filled with a stronger senseof pride and responsibility.

90,00080,00070,00060,00050,00040,00030,00020,00010,000All aluminum heat exchanger

02000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

In 2011, we commenced
operation of Amata Nakorn
Factory (Nikkei Siam AluminumLtd.),
manufacturing
heat
exchangers for household air
conditioners in Thailand where
many Japanese-affiliated air
conditioner manufacturers havepresence. From here, we ship
our products to other Asiancountries.

Source: World Health Organization (WHO)6

SpecialFeature3
Connecting people
through logistics

Through connections between our customers, truck manufacturers and Team NLM, we will develop new
standard dry van type full-length trailer trucks and contribute to solving problems in the logistics industry.
Issues facing the logistics industry in Japan• Elimination of the shortage of truck drivers andimprovement of work environment• Increase in efficiency of highway truck transportation in
response to the need for speedy delivery• Reduction of CO2 emission from delivery
Development of new standard dry van type fulllength trailer trucks
Japanʼs first new standard dry van type trailer truck withvehicle combinations had a total length of 21 meters and wascreated through collaborative development efforts among
Yamato Transport Co., Ltd., which aims to achieve same-day
delivery in high-demand routes between Tokyo and Nagoya
and Osaka, Isuzu Motors Limited, the leading truck seller inJapan, and Nippon Fruehauf Co., Ltd., which has strengths inthe development of light weight and high resistancealuminum transportation equipment and products. The truck
has been contributing to the improvement of freighttransportation efficiencies between sites.
As a preference measure under the Act on Special
Districts for Structural Reform, driving of this new standard
full-length trailer truck on public roads was allowed inaccordance with the general permission nationwide
of projects for improvement of freight transportation
efficiencies through the use of longer- than-average fulltrailer trucks that have vehicle combinations for separable
freight, and following a relaxing of legal restrictions inconjunction with the permission.

7The 2.3-meter length created from customer partnerships
Raising the loading efficiency as much as possible andminimizing the length of the vehicle joining sections without
impairing the operability—this difficult question was solved inthis new standard full-length trailer truck. An increase of
approximately 23% in loading capacity compared to that of theconventional standard 18.7 meter full-length trailer trucks wasachieved. As a result, the new trailer truck can carry 32 roll box
pallets※ compared to only 26 units for conventional trailer
trucks. Now that larger volumes of freight can be transported at
one time, it is expected to lead to s reduction in CO2 emissions
during freight transportation and reforms in the way of working
for truck drivers who support logistics.
※Roll box pallets: Carts fortransportation that are widelyused in land transportation,
wholesale and retail industries
for temporary storage at sortingsites and for carrying cargo totruck loading sites
Roll box pallets

Loadingcapacity

23%↑

Comment from person in charge
This development project started with customer consultation received by ourcompany. Given strong demand for personal freight transportation in Japan,

the issue of improving loading capacity and efficiency in freighttransportation was a major challenge for the transportation industry, which
hoped to meet cargo ownersʼ expectation for faster delivery.
Simply making longer trailer trucks would not satisfy requirements such as

improved loading efficiency and driverʼs operability, and this new standard

full-length trailer truck has been created solely through a combination ofcooperation among the sales, development and manufacture sections,connections in Team NLM and our connection with customers.
We are committed to continuously developing products that contribute topeopleʼs enriched and comfortable life and to creating the future in whichpeople are connected through logistics.

Change in the number of small- volume goods handled

Mr. Hidehiko Watanabe, Project General

Manager, No. 2 Development Department,Nippon Fruehauf Co., Ltd. (the person in themiddle in the photograph)（10,000 items/ volume of books)
1,000,000
800,000
600,000

A full view of a new standard
dry van type full trailer truck

400,000
200,000
02005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Joining section of trailer truck

8The Environment

Activities for preserving biodiversity
In the NLM Group, we promote activities for preserving biodiversity at our sites in Japan and othercountries in accordance with our biodiversity guidelines. In promoting the activities, we apply
various methods that are appropriate for each phase. Specifically, we monitor the impact of ourbusiness activities on biodiversity, engage in business activities in consideration of biodiversity,and cooperate with local communities in our efforts to reduce the impact on biodiversity.

Tree planting and biotope creation

Activities for protecting
coral reefs

Nikkei Siam Aluminium Ltd. (Thailand)

Greening of factory premisesTomakomai Complex of
Nippon Light Metal Co., Ltd.

Tree-planting activities
on an industrial estate

Amata Nakorn Factory of
Nikkei Siam Aluminium Ltd.
(Thailand)

Garden and biotope

Nikkei Niigata Co., Ltd.

Garden on office building rooftop
and biotope

Fruehauf Mahajak Co., Ltd. (Thailand)

Amata Nakorn Factory of
Nikkei Siam Aluminium Ltd. (Thailand)

9

Wellgrow Plant of Nikkei MC Aluminum (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Main relevant
SDGs

Neighborhood cleaning andenvironmental monitoring

Observation of wild birds thatcome to the discharge channel

Fishway constructionKambara Complex ofNippon Light Metal Co., Ltd.

Collaborations
with NPOs

Participation in the creation ofKyosei no Mori (forest of coexistence)by Nikkei Technology Center Co., Ltd.

Kakimoto Dam

Mangrove protection
activities

Nikkei Siam Aluminium Ltd. (Thailand)Tree planting at Miho no Matrubara (World Heritage)
and beach cleaning

Nikkei Sangyo Co., Ltd.

Cleaning of the area around the factoryby Nikkei Extrusions Co., Ltd.

Fishway that was constructedin Toshima Dam

Monitoring of drainage at the Shimizu Plantof Nikkei Light Metal Co., Ltd.

Riken Light Metal Industry Co., Ltd.

Patrol of the outer perimeter of the factoryby Toyo Rikagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd.

Cleaning of the area around the factory
Shiga Factory of Nikkei Panel System Co., Ltd.

Cleaning of the area around the plant Wellgrow Plant
of Nikkei MC Aluminum (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

10

CONTACT INFORMATION

Nippon Light Metal Holdings Company, Ltd.
CSR Contact, CSR & Auditing Administration Department
Tennozu Yusen Bldg, 2-2-20 Higashi Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 140-8628
TEL: +81-3-5461-8601
Fax: +81-3-5461-9188