January 30, 2020
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
*This press release was originally published in Japanese on January 23, 2020.

Sumitomo Electric Makes Full-Scale Expansion of Its Cutting
Tool Business in the Aircraft Industry

In December 2019, Sumitomo Electric Carbide, Inc. (Head office: Illinois, U.S.;
President: Kazuyoshi Kimura), a group company of Sumitomo Electric Industries,Ltd. (“the Company”) joined Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center Researchand Development (OMIC R&D), an industry-academia-government cooperative
consortium for aircraft. OMIC R&D is the third aircraft-related consortium that theSumitomo Electric Group has joined following consortiums in the UK (2017) andGermany (2018). Through the participation in these aircraft R&D consortiums
established in Europe and North America, the Company will accelerate thedevelopment of cutting tools suitable for use in the aircraft industry.
OMIC R&D is an aircraft consortium established in June 2017 under the initiative ofthe Boeing Company, six private enterprises in Oregon, three universities in Oregon (TheOregon Institute of Technology, Oregon State University and Portland State University),
and the Oregon state government. Its objective is to promote collaboration amongindustries, academia and government, thereby strengthening competitiveness inmetalworking and developing human resources who will play key roles in the field of nextgeneration manufacturing. Through joint research and information-sharing with OMIC
R&D, the Company will effectively use its original powder metallurgy technology andultra-high pressure technology to develop new next-generation cutting tools required in
the aircraft industry.
In the past, the Company joined the Advanced Manufacturing Research Center(AMRC) in the UK in 2017 and the International Center for Turbomachinery
Manufacturing in Aachen (ICTM) in Germany in 2018, both ofwhich are aircraft consortiums. Viewing its admission to OMIC
R&D as an opportunity, the Company will grasp the latest and1/3

highest levels of European and North American market needs for aircraft engine and airframe structural parts in order to accelerate the development of high-efficiency, long-life
cutting tools satisfying these needs and introduce these new tools into the market on afull-scale basis.

Center right: Mr. Craig Campbell, OMIC
Center left: Kazuyoshi Kimura, president of Sumitomo Electric Carbide, Inc.
In addition to its admission to OMIC R&D, the Company will put a variety of otherstrategies into motion to make full-scale expansion of its cutting tool business in theaircraft industry, such as technical support by its European Design and Engineering
Center and America Tool Engineering Center, quick response to the demands for nonstandard special-purpose products by its local production bases, and converting seedsof an idea into products in Japan.

Products the Company intends to expand sales in the aircraft
industry
Left: Coated inserts for machining difficult-to-machine materials

2/3Coated Grades for Exotic Alloys, AC5015S/AC5025S
Right: General-purpose,high-accuracy shoulder milling cutters SEC-WaveMill WEZ
seriesHigh-Precision shoulder Milling Cutter for General-Purpose, SEC-WaveMill WEZ TM
seriesMaterials for airframes are said to be hard to machine. To further increase the share of
its products in the booming aircraft manufacturing market, the Company will efficiently
use its unique powder metallurgy and ultra-high pressure technologies cultivated throughits past cutting tool business and will also actively participate in the above aircraft
consortiums and other aircraft R&D projects.
■ Reference
Sumitomo Electric's Website
https://sumitomoelectric.com/

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