TECHNO JAPAN 2006

Comment List

1.	EXCEL OPTICAL CO., LTD.	President:	AKINORI SASAKI
2.	FUKUOKA RASHI CO., LTD.	President:	MIKIHITO FUKUOKA
3.	HOYA VISION CARE COMPANY	President:	GERRY BOTTERO
4.	MAKOTO OPTICAL CO., LTD.	President:	SHOUJI MASUNAGA
5.	MITANI OPTICAL CO., LTD.	President:	YOSHITAKA YAMAMOTO
6.	MIZ GOLD-EYEWEAR MFG. CO.	President:	MOTOHIRO MIZUSHIMA
7.	NAGAI CO., LTD.	President:	MASAO NAGAI
8.	OPTO TAKASHIMA CO., LTD.	President:	NOBUYUKI TAKASHIMA
9.	ORIENT OPTICAL CO., LTD.	President:	YOSHITOMI UMEDA
10.	SANKO KOGAKU CO., LTD.	President:	HIDEKI MIWA
11.	SANKOH CO., LTD.	President:	KAORU MIYOSHI
12.	TAKEDA CREATIVE CORPORATION	President:	KINJI TAKEDA
13.	TAKEUCHI OPTICAL CO., LTD.	President:	RYOUZOU TAKEUCHI
14.	TOKAI OPTICAL CO., LTD.	President:	TAKEO FURUZAWA
15.	YAMAMOTO KOGAKU CO., LTD.	President:	TAMENOBU YAMAMOTO

1.
EXCEL OPTICAL CO., LTD.
President: AKINORI SASAKI

EXCEL OPTICAL CO., LTD. has been an optical frame manufacturer since their founding in 1976. With their high technology and stable quality, they have earned a wide trust from their peers in the industry while manufacturing numerous numbers of OEM products. Furthermore, aiming to become such a maker that can suggest futureoriented ideas about eyeglasses, they were among the first to provide the cutting-edge of titanium eyeglass manufacturing. Trying not to remain just a mere OEM manufacturer, they have been aggressively developing their business.
"MAXIS" is a new brand eyeglass born from the collaboration with a designer who is out side the optical industry. Soon after they unveiled the new frame at "IOFT" in Tokyo in 2005, they amassed adulations from their peers.

In fact, they won the grand prize in the function and technology category at "Eyewear of the year 2006".
The functional key phrase of the frame is "interchangeable ornaments and temples". By pushing the raised part of the temples, wearers can easily change, by themselves, the square-shaped ornaments to different-design ornaments or change metal temples to plastic ones according to the individual's TPO situation.
The way the company will advance is also carefully watched by the industry.

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2. FUKUOKA RASHI CO., LTD. President: MIKIHITO FUKUOKA FUKUOKA RASHI CO., LTD. is a specialist company of precision parts who has been exerting effort to have more development capability and innovative technology while persistently looking ahead of the time. Having earned sterling praise for their quality, they have advanced their research and development more in order to address the incessant fluctuating market needs. As a specialist of metal cutting works, they deploy energetic business activities with mottos of "solid technology worthy of the customer's trust" and "sound and well-balanced development which goes with society". Their main business is precision cutting mainly for eyeglasses. As for optical frame-related parts, parts with various shapes and kinds are available, such as screws, screw nuts, rim locks, and hinges. Secondary processing is also welcomed. Making full use of Lathe turning machines, machining tools and special machines they have developed, they flexibly meet the many needs of limited production of diversified products. In particular, they are handling numerous processing orders of titanium cutting. Their NC machines (numerically controlled machines) excel at processing parts whose caliber is up to 16mm in diameter. Cutting with special shapes can be done thanks to the combination of a machining tool with a lathe turning machine. Uncomplicated drillings and milling operations are done by their own specialized machine, which is speedier as well as cheaper than other machining tools. They also receive the processing order of parts whose material is hard to cut.		3. HOYA VISION CARE COMPANY President: GERRY BOTTERO HOYA is tirelessly pushing ahead with the development of new lens technologies, always offering products with superior functionality and higher quality that meet customer needs even better than before. HOYA continues to develop new products, offering them to customers ahead of its competitors. In the area of plastic lens materials, the products include: the high index material lenses EYAS, EYNOA and EYRY and the high-strength PHOENlX lens; for the anti-reflection coating, HOYA offers VP Coating, which is easy to wipe clean, and SFT Coating, which is scratch-resistant; and in the area of lens design, "Hoyalux iD", which is the world's first integrated double-surface progressive design, with which HOYA has realized a design that provides a natural view and optimal performance at every distance — near, far, and in-between. HOYA is developing its eyeglass business in Japan, Europe, North America and the Asia- Pacific region. Of these regions, Japan and Europe have been identified as the key strategic markets. HOYA's global business development is guided by business strategies that are fine-tuned for local conditions.
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4. MAKOTO OPTICAL CO., LTD. President: SHOUJI MASUNAGA MAKOTO OPTICAL CO., LTD. is a plastic eyeglass manufacturer since their founding in 1970. The craftsman's spirit has been deeply rooted in their products. They make no concessions on any minor points. The cutting and polishing are done meticulously one at a time by the craftsmen who have impeccable skills. While receiving OEM orders for the selected few domestic brands, they launched their own brands "AYUMI" and "CRAFT ISM" six years ago. This was based on their ambition to inspire the spirit of independent manufacturing into the products without being influenced by such tight conditions as delivery dates or costs. By marking the name of the individual workers in charge of design, cutting, polishing and manufacturing on the eyeglass, the responsible person is explicitly indicated on each piece. The shape of the frame is emphasized based on the wearing comfort. And the part where the wearer's skin makes contact is finished as softly as possible, which contrasts sharply with the clearcut appearance. Using Titanium parts, it expresses the exquisite harmony of tradition and state-of-the-art technology. "CRAFT ISM" is the frame with the highest standard of excellence, which displays status underpinned by traditional expertism. Both brands are their top ranking frames with excellent workmanship.		5. MITANI OPTICAL CO., LTD. President: YOSHITAKA YAMAMOTO MITANI OPTICAL CO., LTD. has been a highprofile eyeglass company at home and abroad as they have been dealing in the eyeglass business since their founding in 1973 in planning, manufacturing, selling, and exporting. In the domestic market, with their excellent planning ability, they have been releasing a wide range of advanced products while developing original brands, introducing apparel brands to their fashion collections, as well as innovating healthconscious eyeglasses like those using germanium and so on. They have expanded their business globally by setting up "SHANGHAI SANGU GLASSES CO., LTD." in China in 1995, and "MITANI USA INC" in the USA in 1998. They won several awards at one of Japan's biggest design competitions, which brought them high appraisal in terms of design. They have been developing their brands "MATSUDA", "MITANI EYE WEAR", "EYEBRO", and "KISURA" internationally, which are loved by people worldwide for both its fashionable and functional concepts. Their brand "MATSUDA" proposes the "one and only" with a concept of "True Creation", featuring a frame with high quality and tradition, as well as modernity of the material.
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6. MIZ GOLD-EYEWEAR MFG. CO. President: MOTOHIRO MIZUSHIMA MIZ GOLD-EYEWEAR MFG.CO. is a high class eyeglass manufacturer who uses precious metal materials. They have a reputation for their manufacturing which features the respective characteristics of Gold, Platinum, and Silver. In 1941, Mr. Shirouemon Mizushima of a former generation ran a start-up business. Since then craftsmanship has been kept through the entire process of eyeglass manufacturing from design to finish. Their exceptional inquiring mind of making better eyeglasses was rewarded with many awards for their inventions and designs. "MIZ JAPAN Collection" has been made with a motto "To make well-crafted eyeglasses that last for more than twenty years with no change". Because of these frames' distinctive shapes we become more attached to the eyeglasses as we use them again and again. 18K gold is also used at the joints as the soldering material for 18K frames. Made of environmentally friendly materials to recycle, the frames possess a number-one standard of excellence so as to be handed down from a parent to a son or daughter after appropriate repairs. The company has also been manufacturing and selling "TWO POINT WATCH" designed by the designer, Mr. Toshiyuki Kita. The year following the debut of this watch, the company received a splendid award at the largest design competition in Japan. Based on such highly motivated craftsmanship, well-cultivated technology and sophisticated design, they continue challenging themselves to make the top ranked eyeglasses in the world.		7. NAGAI CO., LTD. President: MASAO NAGAI NAGAI CO., LTD. is an advanced company who has various patents for the process of laminating temples and temple tips. They meet any orders even those of complicated designs with their outstanding capacity in technological development. Especially, their temples, laminated after being cut by a three dimensional laser cutter, enable their temples to express unique designs of indented patterns infinitely. The "NEXTENS" is an optical frame brand with the concept of "a frame for the next age". It is a brand for which NAGAI CO., LTD. has been constantly pursuing with their new technologies, structures, materials, designs so they can cast all the possibilities from these studies into shape. This revolutionary frame is made from an innovative carbonaceous material "nanocarbon" and has acquired high evaluation internationally. With its wide variations, "SOTA" is an original and popular temple cut by a three dimensional laser. "RAPTUM" is the brand born from "SOTA", whose concept is the "fusion of metal and celluloid". Indicating the new direction of "SOTA", "RAPTUM" gives wearing comfort made by well-balanced technology and design while utilizing new technology. It suggests that the new standard model is worthy of being called "pla-metal" rather than being called a conventional "metal frame".
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8. OPTO TAKASHIMA CO., LTD. President: NOBUYUKI TAKASHIMA OPTO TAKASHIMA CO., LTD. is an overall wholesaler of eyeglasses and optical-related products. They have their head office in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, and branches in Tokyo and Sendai. They also collaborate closely with manufacturing factories in Fukui as their business hub, which is the production center of Japanese eyeglasses, to put a great deal of effort in developing their original products. It was in autumn of 2005 at "IOFT 2005" in Tokyo, "Beoluna" got the company into the limelight for their amber-used eyeglass for the first time in the world. Developed by the collaboration with BEOLUNA CO., LTD., a general distributor in Japan who handles raw ambers, the jewelry eyeglass gathered attention and numerous avid and enthusiastic inquiries from many buyers at home and abroad. Most parts of the frame is made by hand to feature the amber's favorable characteristics while being designed functionally as an eyeglass. Among the amber's many color variations five colors are available. They are champagne, cognac, wine, milky and yellow. Furthermore, they have a line up of distinguished original brands such as "megane coubow" which features a unique Japanese style as well as "TIKUHOU" which uses rare bamboo.		9. ORIENT OPTICAL CO., LTD. President: YOSHITOMI UMEDA ORIENT OPTICAL CO., LTD. is a general trader of optical frames. Since their establishment in 1947, they have aimed to become a company which could create "spiritual affluence". With their sensitivity, they have created numerous original brands which predicted the trend of the future. Taking advantage of their futuristic planning ability, they are also receiving the order of OEM. "TWO DAIYA OPTICAL CO., LTD." is their affiliated company in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan. With the wide range of their original brands, they have been providing eyeglasses which match diversified targets. "Syun KIWAMI", the frame which expresses "Shun" (a play on words "in season and moment" in Japanese) of a new daily life, has acquired high evaluation at home and abroad. "Cloud Nine" is a casual frame suitable for a grownup man and woman. Nickel free surface treatment as well as trilaminar-structured acetate or multifaceted epoxy coating have been adopted. Their other brands in the market are "MATRIX ", an orthodox but constantly popular pure-titanium frame, and "reiz", a pure ｧ-titanium frame with rich color variation. "LOGIC TUFF" uses special titanium for temples and a particular kind of coating on the frame prevents sweat stains or marks from dirt, for it excels in abrasion resistance. The latest brand "likr" fascinates fans with a touch of handcraft appearance.
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10. SANKO KOGAKU CO., LTD. President: HIDEKI MIWA SANKO KOGAKU CO., LTD., for 83 years since their establishment, has been mainly manufacturing eyeglasses of their own house brand and OEM until this year. The motto they have kept consistently is "to make products which users are satisfied with". It means to make such eyeglasses that are not easy to break, but functional, as well as comfortable to wear. This may be taken for granted on production, but the company firmly kept the policy without skimping on any jobs even tiny ones. They keep challenging themselves so that they can further their development planning, create stronger and lighter materials, and engage in ingenious works. The principle they always follow is to provide customers with such sophisticated products which would never tarnish the reputation of "Made in Japan". Setting up the planning department in 1991, they have pursued their originality and created new eyeglasses with their own wisdom. Such challenging spirit lead them to develope their original brands "DUN" and "SLEN-D", which have acquired high evaluation from European and American retailers and consumers because of their innovative designs and materials. With "back-to-basics" spirit as a maker, they go on providing the world market with top-level eyeglasses. Their original brand "DUN" is made mainly of "gunmetal", which is also used as car parts for F1 racing. As the material is easy to process, the design can be easily seen on the frames. The frames of this material are highly praised for their excellent durability and elasticity as well as wearing comfort.		11. SANKOH CO., LTD. President: KAORU MIYOSHI SANKOH CO., LTD. is a general manufacturer of polycarbonate polarized lens. They started their business in 1912 as a roof tile maker. They tempered clay and kilned it in a mold. Such persistence in making goods has never changed however long time passes. The polycarbonate polarized lens they make is based on the experience and practical accomplishments from their manufacturing. The company launched lens manufacturing for eyeglasses in 1968. They became the forerunner by constant lens development from polycarbonate lenses to polarized lenses in accordance with the changes of the time. In 1995, they started the production of semi-finish polarized prescription lens, and in 2004, polycarbonate polarized prescription lens as well, which enabled them to gain international admiration. Under the concept "To protect one's eyes in outdoor activities is equal to protecting one's life", its lens holds the highest ranked impact resistance that assures safety and reassurance for wearers' eyes. The combination of polycarbonate polarized lens and polycarbonate resin by a special molding method enhanced its performance. Using a polarized film in the dyeing system, it has excellent heat resistance, color stability, while preventing the occurrence of discoloring over time and decolorization by high temperature and deterioration of polarization performance. It also has high impact resistance and stability, which is perfect for rimless or semi-rimless frames.
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12. TAKEDA CREATIVE CORPORATION President: KINJI TAKEDA TAKEDA CREATIVE CORPORATION has been consistently controlling eyeglass planning, designs, developing, and manufacturing since their founding in 1995. Making the best use of the experience of the president Mr. Takeda and his staff, they have been continuously striving to make the very best products. In terms of planning and designs, they pursue unrivaled originality as well as novelty designs. While developing new technologies, they have acquired many patents at home and abroad. And they accentuate the excellence of Japanese products by carefully selecting factories to place their orders, based on thorough study of the individual factory's features and characteristics. They make products by OEM agreement from companies abroad and meet the customers' requirements scrupulously. They also have been developing their original brands such as "TAKE-Da", "youu:collector" and so on. Although a small-sized company, they are the experts with abundant experience, which makes them flexible and adaptable to meet their customers' requirements to the fullest extent. There is no wonder that there are more and more expectations from their peers about how they develop themselves.		13. TAKEUCHI OPTICAL CO., LTD. President: RYOUZOU TAKEUCHI TAKEUCHI OPTICAL CO., LTD. has been an old-established eyeglass manufacturer since their founding in 1932. They enjoy time-honored solid technology and business accomplishments. The unique manufacturing system enabled them to carry out their consistent control and operation from planning and design to production and marketing. The trust bestowed on the company is so high. Their original brand "A.P.M." and "duraluxx" is a world top-level eyeglass made by their cutting-edge technology. The company also receives orders of consignment production from design to manufacturing. Strict quality control and advanced technology honored them by receiving high appraisal from their customers. The unique production system realized the wide variety of products in small quantities with quick delivery. "duraluxx" is the revolutionary eyeglass as it uses duralumin whose weight is lighter than titanium by 38 %. This excellent material has been utilized in air crafts or attach cases. The Nickel-free frame is skin-friendly as well as recyclable like aluminum or polyethylene terephthalate bottles. The company collects the waste materials from its manufacturing, which is exactly worthy of being called an earth-friendly eyeglass.
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14. TOKAI OPTICAL CO., LTD. President: TAKEO FURUZAWA TOKAI OPTICAL CO., LTD. has been a manufacturer of specialized ophthalmic lenses since their founding in 1939. Among lens makers, they are the only one who has been consistent with their business stance about material development, design, surface treatments, processing development to meet the requirements of the market. They have been coping aggressively with environmental issues. They were awarded the quality certification of ISO 9002 in 1996, followed by ISO 9001 and ISO14001 in 2000. In the international lens market, where the demand of plastic high refractive index lens has been rapidly increasing, it is generally known that Japan dominantly holds the world's top technology in this area. The company's Japanmade ophthalmic lens products have strongly been loved at home and abroad with high evaluation. In 1995, they established an affiliated distribution company in Belgium, alongside a laboratory in 2003, which contributed to their market expansion into the EU. They have been constantly releasing value-added products in the market. As for their advanced coating technology, they possess a wide offering such as anti-reflection coating, stain-proof coating, scratch-resistant coating, and antifogging coating. As for lenses, they offer the most advanced front-and-back surface progressive lens, which has dramatically reduced distortion and flickering, together with back surface progressive lens and with ultra high index aspheric lens.		15. YAMAMOTO KOGAKU CO., LTD. President: TAMENOBU YAMAMOTO With three divisions, that of sports, optical, and safety and health care, YAMAMOTO KOGAKU CO., LTD., has been proposing various products under the theme of "Sports Eye Vision" covering a wide range of markets such as industrial, sports and leisure as well as people's daily lives. They have been providing the world with a diversified range of eyeglasses and lenses by their long accumulated technologies and product-development abilities. The company, who celebrates their 100th anniversary in 2011, sets their motto for the twenty-first century as "Protecting, For You". Their corporate philosophy is "To contribute to society by creating spiritually affluent lifestyles and cultures for people in the world". They have been striving to become such a company who advocates a more comfortable and creative society by realizing people's dreams and wishes. Through their products, they aim to support a safer and more comfortable living environment. From materials, mainly polycarbonate resin, to moldings and surface processing, their unique lens-related technology has been developed consistently. They have established the epoch-making molding technique "FIT", a special polarization film inserting system, which brought the lens exceptional polarization performance. They keep advancing to manufacture better products which meet numerous customers' needs.
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