Integrated Report 2025Strengths of the artience Group: Open Innovation

Takahashi  The Incubation Center was launched in January 2023, with the mission of creating new businesses. The catalyst for its creation was a company-wide project called the Future Discussion Task Force the previous year, in which we shared a sense of crisis that the Company has not been very successful in developing new businesses in recent years. At that time, sales and technical staff met once a month to discuss new themes, but there were limits to what we could do under a system where each employee had to perform their original duties in addition to these tasks. It led to the decision that a dedicated department was needed. There were three initial members, including myself, who launched the Incubation Center with the goal of creating new businesses seriously and quickly. We started as an organization working directly under the president.

Starting with the creation of a foundation for actualizing business ideas

TakahashiIn the beginning, everything was trial and error. We conducted interviews with leading companies and participated in external seminars on new businesses. It became clear that, before gathering innovative business ideas, we first needed to build a foundation of corporate culture and human resources to support them. So, we focused our efforts on planning and holding lectures by experts and human resources training programs for those who would lead this transformation.
Another new initiative was to open up the free space in our head office, free of charge, as a place for people and information to come together. We have invited startups, local governments, NGOs, and other organizations to participate in various events themed around science and innovation, with over 10,000 people participating to date. Starting this fiscal year, we are planning a full-scale launch of the Incubation CANVAS TOKYO, a global hub specializing in materials.
We have also restructured and renamed our Business Idea Contest, which we have been holding for many years, as “IPPO”(meaning “first step.”) In the past, the application process was difficult, requiring the submission of a business plan, but we have now made it possible for people to apply with just a single A4 sheet of paper explaining their idea. Applicants will receive mentoring from an external consulting firm, and refine their proposals in stages through a stage-gate process.

The shoots of new businesses gradually grow and take shape

TakahashiTwo years have now passed since our establishment, and we have grown as an organization. By transferring promising themes that were previously buried in our business and R&D divisions to dedicated members, the size of our team has now grown to around 20 strong. From among these diverse initiatives, we are now beginning to see some results, such as sales taking root in some areas.
We have also started collaborating with startup companies, which is something with which we have had only limited experience in the past. Through repeated participation in various matching events, we have built connections, and new forms of co-creation are now beginning to take shape, with joint contracts already established on multiple themes.
In “IPPO,” the energy-saving solution that won the grand prize in FY2024 is nearing commercial readiness. Mr. Kawashima — who proposed the idea — has transferred to the Center, and is currently 100% committed to advancing this project. We have also started to conduct paid demonstration experiments with customers. The seeds that we have nurtured at our Incubation Center are now beginning to shoot.

Commercializing a long-time pet project, boosted by the grand prize award

Kawashima  After we received the Energy Conservation Grand Prize for our factory buildings and facilities, the president of the operating company I was working for at the time asked me to enter last year’s IPPO contest. I have long considered energy conservation to be one of my personal missions, and I had always wanted to turn it into a business, but I never imagined that things would happen so quickly. Winning the grand prize was a major turning point. I am grateful for the strong support of those around me, and eager to live up to their expectations.
We are currently working on solutions that focus on equipment operation methods to significantly reduce energy consumption. I joined the Company as a mid-career hire, and this is the fourth company that I have worked at. Through my work in facility management for office buildings and commercial facilities, I came to realize that, even if we introduce the latest equipment, it is the way in which we operate it after introduction that determines whether we can actually achieve energy savings. I have often seen issues where information obtained from on-site inspections is not shared effectively within the company, and this initiative aims to address that problem.

A mission to foster a positive corporate culture and develop human resources

Takahashi  At the Incubation Center, we consider it one of our key missions to enroot a culture of challenge throughout the entire Group while creating new businesses. The starting point for everything is the mindset of each individual. No matter how excellent the system or how innovative the theme, without the will of individuals to take the first step, things will not move forward.
Through initiatives such as IPPO and the Incubation CANVAS TOKYO, we are beginning to see tangible results in terms of a gradual change to the company’s internal atmosphere and corporate culture. Employees who had always thought, “Hey, I’d really like to try doing something like this...” while going about their daily work are gradually starting to take action. Having an environment within the company that allows employees to actualize such aspirations is also important for improving engagement.

Towards creating value that resonates with the senses

Kawashima  First, I will focus all of my efforts on the early commercialization of our current energy-saving solutions project. We have already received inquiries from several customers, and I hope that we can contribute to reducing overall energy consumption in society through the realization of this business. I would also like to use the experience I have gained to take on new challenges in the future. This project has deepened cooperation within the organization with a focus on energy conservation, and I think the same should be possible in other business areas. As someone who joined the Company from a different industry, midway through my career, I believe that launching a new business is significant in that it shows the possibilities for others who might follow in my footsteps.

Takahashi   Going forward, we will continue to nurture new business opportunities for the future while steadily expanding existing businesses. I feel the difficulties in this “ambidextrous” style of management every day. New businesses need to be approached from a long-term perspective, and do not immediately generate earnings like existing businesses. But in an environment where results are not achieved, employees will not develop a mindset of having a go for themselves. We believe that it is important to continue creating a culture and system that fosters new businesses, while increasing the number of success stories like Mr. Kawashima’s. Through Incubation Center activities, we aim to create a culture of challenge, with a view to realizing our vision of “A Future Where All People Can Live Enriched Lives,” and which will lead to significant changes in our business portfolio.