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High-tech Industries Leading the 21st Century
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With the establishment
of "New Industrial Cities"and the advancement
of the "Technopolis Project" as the backdrop,
steel, chemical and IC-related electric machines enterprises
have opened branches in Oita Prefecture. Some companies
have not just taken on sub-contract positions but have
also tried to improve their own products or technologies
based on those adopted from these enterprises.
A company that used to be a subcon-tractor of one of the
steel-related enterprises for precision cutting was greatly
admired for their technology and was invited to participate
in a project of manufacturing weightless environment test
facility for the National Space Development Agency of
Japan. Another company used to make only ordered products,
but developed widely used semiconductor manufacturing
equipment, and expanded their market for semiconductor
products not only in Japan but also worldwide. There is
also a company which dramatically changed its business.
While it used to be a subcontracting factory receiving
orders from parent companies as part of an assembly process,
it succeeded in developing and manufacturing semiconductor
test equipment. Another company succeeded in developing
their own IC-related products based on the technological
know-how accumulated through the subcontract works in
the assembly test process of IC and ULSI. In this way,
technologies from enterprises of the high-tech industry
in Oita Prefecture have "merged" into local
companies, and the local high-tech industry is growing
to support the "Technologically-advanced Prefecture"
and "Intellectual Prefecture" that Oita Prefecture
is aiming to become. |
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Improvement of the Level of Local Technology |
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| Other examples show
the cases of improvement in technological know-how accumulation
in the local society, or the development of new technology
or products derived from the improved technology. One
example is the development of bio-technology based on
fermenting technology. A bio-research o rganization "Usuki
Bio Center" was established by local companies, focusing
on fermenting technology related to fermented soy bean
paste and soy saucein Usuki City. "Usukizyme",
a fungal cell walls lytic enzyme, was developed at the
Institute. Another example is the development of fineceramics
based on the lime chemistry. The "Tsukumi Fineceramics
Research Center" was established by companies of
lime chemistry in Tsukumi City. They have borne fruits
in the research and development of lime-related fineceramics
and high value-added calcium carbonate, and joint research
is now in progress with Oita University and other institutions.
It thus has high expectations of creating new high-tech
industries by improving and advancing the level of traditional
local technology. Oita Prefecture is taking measures to
improve technological exchanges; by providing support
for research and development, human resource education,
exchange among different industries / local enterprises
/ universities, establishment of institutes for research
and test such as "Oita Industrial Research Institute".
In order to support high-tech industrialization, Oita
Industrial Research Institute offers various programs
such as technical instruction, educational training for
corporate researchers, support for the development of
trial pieces and research and development of practical
technologies. The "SMC. Co., Ltd", the third
sector Saiki City invested in, also focuses on the growth
of high-tech industries and promotes research and development,educational
training, incubate businesses, as well as technology transfer
to the local companies. |
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New Industrial Cities
Oita Northern Core Industrial Park(Bungotakada City)
Toshiba Oita Plant (Oita City)
Oita Industrial Research Institute (Oita City)
Limestone Mountain(Tsukumi City)
SMC. Co., Ltd (Saiki City)
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