Contribution: Congratulations on thePublication of the 90th Anniversary Special
Issue of Valqua Technology News
Let me express my congratulations on the publication of the 90thanniversary special issue of Valqua Technology News to all the staff of thetechnology-development department of Nippon Valqua Industries, Ltd. I used
to work in that department, and so I am happy to see this anniversary.
In the research and development department, I used to study fluororesin. At that time, fluororesin
was introduced as a material for Valqua's seal products. I also conducted basic research, although I
probably spent longer in applied research and development.
In this article, I would like to share some of my experiences while working on application
development.
Thanks to its distinguished characteristics, fluororesin is used in many industrial fields including forsemiconductor manufacturing equipments, chemical plants, and automobile-related and electroniccomponents. Also, domestically manufactured fluororesin electric cable（Valflon electric cable）was
In development studies for geothermal power generation, cables for underground surveys arerequired. These cables are used in volcanic areas, and so naturally, excellent heat resistance isrequired to tolerate the high temperatures found underground during exploration. At that time, theSpring 2017used to explore locations for geothermal power generation, a new energy.

best cable for this purpose was tetrafluoroethylene resin electric cable.
However, despite its excellent functions, tetrafluoroethylene resin was difficult to process, so weworked hard to devise a way to manufacture cables of several thousand meters. After great
difficulties, we adopted tape-wrapped cable.
We attached various sensors to the end of the cable. Then, along with electricians and the cable, weexplored trackless mountains in a volcanic zone. After safely arriving at the planned location forgeneration, we measured the temperature of hot hydrothermal water present several meters below
the ground along with the staff at the geological survey station. This was all a long time ago（about40 years?）.
I also experienced on-site development activities. Once, we worked on developing components
including a chemical-resistant heater and solving problems at a production line of a major
semiconductor manufacturer which went on to lay the foundation of the current IT society. On
another occasion, we were posted to a steel-manufacturing site, where we were surrounded bystrong acids and alkalis contained in tanks lined with chemical-resistant fluororesin, piping
inspectors lined with chemical-resistant fluororesin, and other equipment. We proceeded with22No.32

development in this tough environment. These hard experiences now provide good memories.
Thanks to the support from many technology-development staff, we could carry out various
application development projects. As a result, we received the Plunkett Award four times. DuPont,
an American manufacturer which was the first to start producing fluororesin, gives the award to agroup which has done excellent work in application development. Our achievement was theculmination of continuous efforts by our excellent R&D staff and related parties, so I was delighted
to win the awards.
As we celebrate the prosperous 90th anniversary year, I look forward to further achievements fromthe technology-development department which will help Valqua to expand toward the coming 100thanniversary.
NIPPON VALQUA INDUSTRIES, LTD. former Managing Director (Technical ･ Business development)

Yoshiaki Mori

Spring 2017
No.32

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