Message From CEO
Our history as a technology-driven company
As described in the History of the TOK Group, our founder’s commitment to challenge selves to develop products that may entail difficulties but are useful to society and are not offered by other companies” has been passed down since the Company was established in 1940. This sprit has allowed us to provide products and technologies that are the first of their kind in Japan, the world, and the best in the world.
For example, OSR is a negative photoresist the Company developed in 1972 and it had amazing resolution for the time. OSR was highly regarded and used in the production of ultra-high-frequency semiconductor devices for the Intelsat weather satellite and Kiku scientific satellite. TOK was asked by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now METI) to commercialize a new polymer developed by one of its research institutes, and this became OSR. Through repeated trial and error, TOK was able to live up to the expectation that “if we ask TOK, they will be able to figure it out.”
With the passage of time, technologies have advanced on the cutting edge to today, where exquisitely designed circuits are miniaturized down to 10nm line widths (process rules) for semiconductor chips.As a global leader in cutting-edge fields, the TOK Group will continue to provide the world’s finest products and services backed by the accumulated technologies and expertise befitting a technology-driven company.
TOK’s corporate culture and CSR
Overcoming challenges to provide unique products requires trying every possible idea without giving up.Instead of aiming to turn the tables with the brilliant discovery of one genius, team players set their sights on victory, and each member spares no effort doing their absolute best in their individual roles. Sample evaluations are an example. TOK thoroughly cycles through testing to the point of being called “honest to a fault,” but it is these down-to-earth efforts behind the scenes that have allowed TOK to call itself an R&D-driven company.It is also the source of the TOK Group’s capabilities and strengths, a part of the DNA that has been passed down throughout its history.
Sparing no effort, doing what needs to be done, and producing results that inspire our stakeholders are the foundations of CSR at TOK.
Win-Win CSR that increases both social value and corporate value
There are two sides to CSR, namely risk management and the creation of business opportunities. Through such activities, TOK strives to increase social value and corporate value at the same time.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also incorporate this thinking. For example, the TOK Group’s high-quality products (hereinafter, “materials”) satisfy customers and generate earnings, and they also create value for society, where the final products that use these materials lead to environmental benefits in the form of energy and resource conservation, as well as greater convenience for customers. Maintaining a healthy work environment is a part of risk management. By going one step further and maintaining a work environment that harnesses diversity and motivates employees, the entire organization is energized and earnings (i.e., corporate value) improve as a result.
CSR at the Group is based on a solid foundation of risk management, and I believe it is very important for CSR initiatives to emphasize win-win outcomes.
Sincere and proactive approach to social responsibility in corporate activities
Having achieved an overseas sales ratio of about 80%,risk management at the TOK Group must naturally be conducted on a global basis. In 2015, the Group launched the GMS (Group Management System) Project with the aim of reducing risk, including at overseas sites, and improving corporate value. To bind Group companies through the GMS, we came up with the TOK Group Documents as a compilation of new Group policies and other information in October 2017. We aim to further strengthen these management systems through the PDCA process.
TOK engages in Responsible Care (RC) activities to ensure conformity with the EHS (environment, health and safety) in all processes, from the development of chemical substances to their disposal and recycling . As a company that handles hazardous chemicals, TOK recognizes EHS management as a pillar of its corporate activities, and will endeavor to maintain and improve its global management system.
Human resource management is also a part of the management functions of GMS. In this context, TOK is taking on work style reforms in a bid to improve corporate value. The Internet has become a more effective tool for work, now that advanced semiconductors have improved data processing speeds and increased data capacity, and this has translated into a wider variety of work styles without being restricted by time or place. TOK has been advancing work style reforms, such as encouraging employees to use all of their paid leave and introducing a flextime scheme. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the ratio of used paid leave was 73.8%, much higher than the Japanese average of 56.6%. Over the past five years, the amount of overtime work has steadily declined as well. As a company deeply involved in building infrastructure as mentioned above, TOK is concentrating on initiatives with a view to creating new work styles.
Value creation through “monozukuri” unique to TOK (core business)
High-performance computers that can process huge volumes of data have enabled sharp growth in cloud computing and social networking services, such as Instagram and other smartphone apps, and this has stimulated the semiconductor market. The Group is also positioned to benefit from robust market conditions by supplying the cutting-edge materials needed to produce large-capacity data servers that fulfill this demand.
In the near future, AI, deep learning, autonomous vehicles, and IoT are likely to take off in earnest. A massive volume of high-performance semiconductor devices will be used across a broad swath of society, including
social infrastructure and healthcare fields, and play a key role in solving various social issues. As one of the global market share leaders in ArF excimer laser photoresists for cutting-edge processes, the TOK Group will respond to these trends in society by concentrating efforts more than ever on the microprocessing technology including EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) photoresists, as well as development of eco-friendly products that further
contribute to energy and resource conservation.
At the TOK Group, we are working together in unison to contribute to society in a way that is unique to TOK, leveraging our human skills, technological capabilities and “monozukuri” DNA that has been passed down as “a company that aims to create inspiration.”