Integrated Report 2025 artience group Strengths: Open Innovation

Takahashi With the mission of creating new businesses, the incubation center was launched in January 2023. The trigger was a shared sense of crisis at the previous year's company-wide project "Future Study Task Force" that "in recent years, we have not grown many new businesses." At that time, people involved in sales and technology met once a month to discuss new themes, but there was a limit to the system in which each person could concurrently work with their primary duties, and we came to the conclusion that a dedicated department was necessary. Three people, including myself, were responsible for the launch as initial members, and we started as an organization under the direct control of the president with the aim of "creating new businesses seriously and speedily."

Starting with the creation of the soil in which the business will take shape

Takahashi In the beginning, everything was fumbling, and I repeatedly interviewed leading companies and participated in external seminars on the theme of new businesses. What we have come to understand is that before gathering innovative business ideas, it is essential to first build a foundation such as a corporate culture and human resources to support them. Therefore, we have focused on planning and holding lectures by experts and human resource development programs that will lead change.
In order to create a place where people and information can gather, it was also a new attempt to open the free space of the head office free of charge. We have invited startups, local governments, NGOs, etc. to hold various events on the theme of science and innovation, and more than 10,000 people have participated so far. From this fiscal year, we plan to operate "Incubation CANVAS TOKYO" in earnest as a global hub specializing in "materials". In addition, the Business Idea Contest that has been held so far has been renamed "IPPO" and restructured. In the past, there were high hurdles to apply, such as the need to submit a business plan, but now we have made it possible to apply from an idea on a single sheet of A4 paper, and we have adopted a stage-gate system in which proposals are refined step by step while receiving mentoring from an external consulting company.

The seeds of a new business that are gradually growing

TakahashiTwo years have passed since the establishment of  and the depth of the organization has increased. As a result of the transfer of promising themes that had been buried in each business division and R&D department "by person," we now have a team of about 20 people. Through each of these diverse initiatives, we are gradually seeing results, such as sales starting to rise in some areas.
We have also started collaborating with start-up companies, which we have not had many examples of in the past. Through repeated participation in various matching events, points of contact have been created, and new forms of co-creation have already taken shape, such as the conclusion of joint contracts on multiple themes.
In the IPPO, the "Energy Conservation Promotion Solution," which won the Grand Prix in FY2024, is nearing commercialization. The proposer, Mr. Kawashima, was transferred to our center and is currently 100% committed to promoting this project. Currently, we have started a fee-based demonstration experiment with our customers, and the sprouts that have been grown at our center are showing signs of bearing fruit.

Taking the opportunity of winning the Grand Prix to commercialize a theme that we have been working on for many years

Kawashima  Prior to receiving the Energy Conservation Grand Prize for measures for factory buildings and equipment, I was directly approached by the president of the operating company to which I belonged at the time, and I applied for last year's contest. I have long considered energy conservation to be one of my missions, and I have always wanted to commercialize it, but I did not expect to be able to realize it so quickly, so winning the Grand Prix was a major turning point. There is also a strong push from those around me, and I am grateful and want to live up to their expectations.
We are currently working on solutions that significantly reduce energy consumption by focusing on the way equipment is operated. This is my fourth company as a mid-career employee, and while I have been involved in facility management for office buildings and commercial facilities, I have come to realize that even if the latest equipment is introduced, it depends on subsequent operations that it can achieve energy-saving effects. We have seen many issues where information obtained through on-site inspections is not shared well within the company, and this initiative has made a difference in this area.

Our Mission to Foster a Corporate Culture and Develop Human Resources

TakahashiThe  Incubation Center believes that its important mission is to create new businesses and at the same time to establish a culture of challenging the entire Group. The starting point of everything is the mindset of the individual, and no matter how good the system or the groundbreaking theme is, things will not move forward without the will of the individual to take the first step.
Through initiatives such as IPPO and Incubation CANVAS TOKYO, we feel that the atmosphere within the company is gradually changing. In addition to their day-to-day work, employees who have been thinking "I really want to do more of this kind of thing" are gradually starting to take action. It is important to have an environment within the company that allows such thoughts to be realized in order to improve engagement.

Toward the creation of value that resonates with the senses

Kawashima First of all, we will devote all our efforts to the early commercialization of the current "Energy Conservation Promotion Solution." We have already received inquiries from several customers, and we would like to contribute to the reduction of energy consumption in society as a whole through the realization of our business. Beyond that, I would like to take advantage of this experience to take on the challenge of other new businesses. This project has deepened the cooperation of organizations with energy conservation as a keyword, and I believe that the same can be done in other business areas. As a mid-career employee from a different industry, I think that starting a new business is significant in terms of showing the possibilities to those who will follow me.

Takahashi While steadily expanding existing businesses, we will nurture the seeds of new businesses for the future. I realize the difficulty of this "ambidextrous management" every day. New businesses need to be tackled from a long-term perspective, and they do not directly lead to profits like existing businesses, but in an environment where results are not produced, employees will not develop the mindset of "I will try it myself." We believe that it is important to continue to create a culture and system that creates new businesses, and to increase the number of successful cases like Mr. Kawashima's as much as possible. I would like to aim that the activities of the Incubation Center will create a culture of taking on challenges toward "a future where all people can live enriched lives" and lead to a major transformation of our business portfolio.