Krosaki Harima Corporation (TSE: 5352)

Quick Facts / Company Snapshot

Total Assets: JPY 187.06 billion
Total Net Assets: JPY 101.64 billion
Total Net Sales (FY2024): JPY 177.92 billion
Operating Profit (FY2024): JPY 14.08 billion
Ordinary Profit (FY2024): JPY 15.32 billion
Net Profit (FY2024): JPY 12.54 billion
Return on Sales (ROS): 8.6%
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC): 7.6%
Return on Equity (ROE): 13.8%
Equity Ratio: 50.8%
Number of Employees (Consolidated): 5,013
Global Plants: 20 manufacturing facilities (13 in Japan, 1 in India, 2 in Europe, 4 in China)
Patents Held: 761 (388 Japanese patents, 389 Overseas patents in FY2024)
Capital Investment (FY2024): JPY 8.53 billion
CO2 Emission Reduction Rate: 9.4% (compared to FY2013)
Total Overseas Net Sales Ratio: 45.1%
Founding Year: 1919
Parent Company: Nippon Steel Corporation
President: Kazuhiro Egawa
Headquarters: 1-1 Higashihamamachi, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka 806-8586

Company Overview

KROSAKI HARIMA CORPORATION operates as a world-class comprehensive ceramics enterprise, functioning as a leading value provider to the steel and other foundational industries. Founded in 1919, the enterprise has continuously played an instrumental role in supporting the world’s key industries through the manufacture and sale of various high-performance refractories and advanced ceramics. The organization is built on three central pillars of business: the Refractories Business, which primarily serves the steel and materials sectors; the Furnace Business, which focuses on the design and construction of industrial furnaces; and the Ceramics Business, which delivers critical components for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, electronic components, and fuel cells.

The corporate mission emphasizes playing a critical role in global industrial development and contributing to societal prosperity by providing high-value products and technologies worldwide through continuous innovation.
The fundamental business goal is to provide the “No.1 Value to Customers Worldwide” while maintaining a corporate culture that encourages individuality and a challenging spirit.
Operations are deeply integrated with global decarbonization trends, offering solutions that withstand the high-temperature demands of modern hydrogen-based reduction and electric arc furnaces.

In a monumental structural shift announced in August 2025, the Board of Directors resolved to support a takeover bid (TOB) by the parent company, Nippon Steel Corporation. Upon the completion of this TOB and subsequent squeeze-out procedures, the organization will transition into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel, and its shares will be delisted from public exchanges. This strategic integration is designed to leverage global resources, improve fundraising capabilities, and position the enterprise as the definitive core company for industrial furnace servicing, thereby strengthening the overall competitiveness of the ironmaking and steelmaking supply chain.

Management continues to execute the 2025 Revised Management Plan, which actively targets JPY 180.0 billion in consolidated net sales, JPY 15.0 billion in consolidated ordinary profit, an ROS of 8.3% or more, and an ROIC of 9.0% or more by the end of the fiscal year 2025. To accomplish this, the enterprise maintains an aggressive global expansion strategy characterized by an optimized global supply chain, robust capital investments in growth markets like India, and rigorous operational self-help efforts to combat rising supply chain costs and raw material inflation.

Business Segments

The enterprise commands a highly diversified business structure, ensuring resilience against regional economic fluctuations. The integration of the three main business segments allows the Furnace Business to function as a seamless integrator of product and construction services, while the Ceramics Business leverages the century of technological expertise accumulated by the Refractories core.

Refractories Business

The Refractories Business is the central operational pillar and the largest revenue generator for the enterprise. For FY2024, the segment generated net sales of JPY 148.5 billion, which represents 83.46% of the total consolidated net sales. Operating profit for the segment stood at JPY 11.4 billion for the same period.

The segment develops and supplies highly durable materials essential for industrial furnaces, including shaped refractory bricks, monolithic powder refractories, and flow control refractories.
Operations include the engineering of ancillary equipment, sliding gates, clean flow nozzles, and porous plugs that stabilize and streamline molten steel flow in continuous casting.
The division heavily invests in the development of “unfired” refractories and the “Dry-Free” series, which eliminate the need for post-construction drying processes, thereby massively reducing customer CO2 emissions.

The strategic focus of the Refractories Business revolves around capturing expanding demand in India and Southeast Asia while navigating the contracting, yet technologically advancing, domestic steel market. The segment mitigates the impact of reduced domestic crude steel volume by accelerating the development of high-performance refractories that are essential for new hydrogen reduction steelmaking processes and electric arc furnaces. Advanced capabilities are supported by automated robotic systems, such as the REX-ROBO, which automate the hazardous and labor-intensive task of replacing sliding nozzles on steel ladles.

Furnace Business

The Furnace Business provides comprehensive, integrated solutions combining refractory products with elite construction and maintenance services. In FY2024, this segment achieved net sales of JPY 19.7 billion, representing 11.07% of the total consolidated revenue, and delivered an operating profit of JPY 1.5 billion.

Operations encompass the routine maintenance and repair of refractories that support blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, secondary refining furnaces, and cement plants.
The segment actively designs and constructs new industrial furnaces, capturing highly specialized orders during the peak repair periods for large-scale steelmaking facilities.
Beyond traditional steel applications, the division secures construction contracts for environment-related equipment, including biomass power generation facilities and energy-saving incinerators.

The division’s core competitive advantage lies in its ability to offer tailor-made, one-stop solutions. By perfectly aligning refractory material design with advanced furnace engineering, the segment extends the service life of critical infrastructure. Management is aggressively addressing the long-term challenge of skilled labor shortages in Japan by utilizing digital technologies, promoting heavy machinery mechanization, and utilizing specialized training facilities like the Nakano Dormitory to pass on technical skills to the next generation of engineers.

Ceramics Business

The Ceramics Business represents the highest-growth frontier, applying ultra-advanced thermal and fine ceramic technologies to next-generation industries. In FY2024, net sales for the segment were JPY 7.8 billion, representing 4.38% of total consolidated revenue, with an operating profit of JPY 0.5 billion.

The segment commands the top global market share (approximately 40%) for “setters”—specialized firing containers essential for the production of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs).
Fine ceramics operations involve manufacturing high-precision, large-format components utilized in advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including lithography machines.
The Thermal Ceramics division manufactures the “KROTECT” series, an ultra-high-performance thermal insulation material applied in residential fuel cells, aerospace, and advanced storage batteries.

Despite temporary inventory adjustments in the semiconductor sector during FY2024, the structural demand for generative AI data centers and electronic vehicle components guarantees robust future expansion. The business is actively securing its supply chain and accelerating capital investments to capture the surging demand for energy-saving, low-thermal-expansion materials that are critical for achieving miniaturization and high efficiency in electronic components.

History and Evolution

The enterprise boasts a profound heritage spanning more than a century, defined by continuous technological innovation, strategic mergers, and aggressive globalization.

1918–1931 (Start-up Period): The foundation was laid in 1918 with the production of silica bricks designed for open-hearth furnace ceilings, coke ovens, and hot stoves. The company was formally established in 1919 by Kenjiro Matsumoto of Yaskawa Matsumoto Shoten and Sunao Kohra, an expert in refractory technology previously associated with the Yawata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. Works.
1949: The enterprise successfully listed its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
1956: Yawata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. acquired a 52% capital participation stake, cementing a foundational partnership with the Japanese steel industry. In the same year, the enterprise accepted the transfer of a furnace materials plant from Yawata Iron & Steel.
1968: Amidst the development period, the company introduced value-added flow control refractories tailored specifically for the newly introduced continuous casting machines, revolutionizing steel production efficiency.
1989: The global footprint expanded significantly with the establishment of KROSAKI AMR REFRACTARIOS, S.A.U. in Spain, marking a pivotal entry into the European market.
2000: The integration and expansion period began with a massive structural enhancement resulting in the modern KROSAKI HARIMA entity.
2010: The acquisition and establishment of TRL KROSAKI REFRACTORIES LIMITED in India created a dominant manufacturing base to serve the rapidly expanding South Asian steel market.
2022: The company was formally selected for the TSE Prime Market, reflecting its premier status in corporate governance and market capitalization.
2024: Deepened its South American presence by launching Krosaki IBAR Refratários LTDA. in Brazil to manufacture critical taphole clay for blast furnaces.
2025: Finalized the establishment of KROSAKI VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED and announced support for the takeover bid by Nippon Steel Corporation, setting the stage to become a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Products and Services

The product portfolio is categorized by extreme durability, intense thermal resistance, and precise flow control capabilities.

Refractory Bricks and Monolithic Refractories

Shaped refractories (bricks) and monolithic (powder) refractories are the foundational products designed to form the inner linings of extreme-temperature industrial vessels.

Magnesia-Carbon Bricks: Utilized heavily in basic oxygen furnaces (converters); these bricks boast a service life of approximately 3 to 4 months under highly abrasive and corrosive conditions.
Alumina Bricks and Alumina-SiC-C Bricks: Specifically engineered for the immense pressure and heat of blast furnaces and torpedo ladles, respectively. Blast furnace linings can achieve a service life of up to 20 years.
Direct-bonded Magnesia-Chrome Bricks: Supplied for secondary refining furnaces and degassers, with upper-part service lives lasting up to 1 year and lower-part service lives averaging 1 month.
Taphole Clay: A highly specialized consumable utilized to plug and safely release molten iron from blast furnaces.
Dry-Free Monolithic Refractories: Advanced castable materials that completely eliminate the necessity for on-site drying processes, radically decreasing installation time, energy consumption, and carbon emissions.

Flow Control Refractories and Engineering Equipment

These highly engineered ceramics are critical for the continuous casting of steel, ensuring the purity and controlled flow of molten metal.

Sliding Gate Plates (SN Plates): Precision-machined plates that act as mechanical valves to control the flow rate of molten steel from ladles into the tundish. These are high-turnover consumables replaced at daily or hourly intervals.
Alumina Graphite (AG) Nozzles: Submerged entry nozzles that protect the molten steel stream from oxidation. Advanced versions utilize the EVERCLEAN technology to prevent alumina clogging within the nozzle bore.
Gas Bubbling Plugs: Porous refractory plugs installed in the base of ladles to purge argon gas, promoting thermal homogenization and the removal of non-metallic inclusions from the steel.
REX-ROBO Systems: Proprietary industrial robotic systems designed to automate the hazardous removal and replacement of sliding nozzles and refractories in maintenance shops.

Advanced Ceramics

The Ceramics Business engineers materials for environments demanding absolute purity and zero thermal expansion.

Electronic Component Firing Setters: High-thermal-conductivity kiln furniture utilized as carrying plates during the firing of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). They offer extreme longevity and significantly improve customer energy efficiency.
Fine Ceramics for Semiconductor Equipment: Large-format, precision-machined ceramic components utilizing ultra-low thermal expansion materials (like NEXCERAT) suitable for the high-vacuum, high-purity environments of lithography and etching tools.
Thermal Ceramics (Heaters and Insulation): Includes non-flammable, flexible heaters for insulating complex piping, and the KROTECT series of nano-thermal insulation materials that achieve thermal conductivity lower than still air.

Brand Portfolio

The enterprise is actively transitioning toward a branded product strategy, heavily emphasizing the environmental and high-performance value of its specialized technologies.

K-GenesisX: The overarching master brand established in FY2024 to collectively represent all differentiated products and solutions with high environmental value. The brand communicates future-oriented solutions combining innovative technologies with carbon neutrality goals.
Dry-Free: A revolutionary series of monolithic refractories formulated without traditional liquid binders. By requiring only water addition, they eliminate the energy-intensive drying and preheating phases, directly reducing on-site CO2 emissions by up to 130 tons compared to past products.
EVERCLEAN: A specialized material applied to the inner bore of submerged entry nozzles used in continuous casting. It chemically and physically prevents the adhesion of alumina inclusions, ensuring smooth molten steel flow and superior final steel quality.
CARDIX: A dense, highly corrosion-resistant Magnesia-Carbon (MgO-C) brick designed specifically for the extreme conditions of basic oxygen furnaces (converters) where temperatures exceed 1600°C. It mitigates the risk of cracking induced by extreme thermal shock.
TOUGHMAX: A branded highly durable MgO-C brick specifically formulated for converter charging pads, offering enhanced resistance to both intense thermal fluctuations and massive physical shock.
NEXCERAT: An ultra-low thermal expansion ceramic material exhibiting a coefficient equal to low-expansion glass but possessing significantly higher structural strength. It is critical for semiconductor precision machinery and large optical telescope mirrors.
KROTECT: An advanced high-performance thermal insulation material boasting exceptionally low thermal conductivity. It minimizes energy loss in industrial furnaces and allows residential fuel cells (ENE-FARM) to be smaller, lighter, and more efficient.
PLATECT: An extremely stable, proprietary plasma coating technology providing world-class abrasion resistance and adhesive strength for industrial components.

Geographical Presence

The enterprise operates a vast, interconnected global network, executing a strategy of “local production for local consumption” to effectively capture regional demand and insulate the business from domestic market stagnation. Overseas net sales accounted for 45.1% (JPY 80.18 billion) of total consolidated revenue in FY2024.

Japan (Domestic Base)

Revenue Contribution: 54.9% of total sales (JPY 97.74 billion).
Manufacturing & Operations: Operates 13 manufacturing plants across Japan, including the massive Bizen area and Yahata area facilities. The domestic operations serve as the primary innovation hub, housing the main R&D centers and managing the complex engineering requirements of domestic steel giants.
Strategic Focus: Addressing labor shortages through massive digital transformation, equipment automation, and maximizing value through the provision of integrated product-and-service solutions.

India

Revenue Contribution: JPY 42.06 billion (23.6% of total revenue; 52.4% of overseas revenue).
Entity: TRL KROSAKI REFRACTORIES LIMITED (TRLK).
Operations & Footprint: Headquartered in Belpahar with massive manufacturing sites. TRLK holds a leading share of the Indian market. It supplies a comprehensive lineup of products to the steel, cement, non-ferrous, and glass industries.
Strategic Focus: India is the primary growth engine. The region anticipates a massive surge in crude steel production to 300 million tons by 2030. The company is aggressively expanding capacity, notably completing the TRLK Converter Brick Plant in August 2025, and finalizing plans for an entirely new manufacturing plant in the state of Gujarat.

Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Revenue Contribution: JPY 20.04 billion (11.2% of total revenue; 25.0% of overseas revenue).
Entities: KROSAKI AMR REFRACTARIOS, S.A.U. (KAMR), REFRACTARIA, S.A.U. (REF), REFRACTARIA TECHNOLOGIES, S.L.U. (REFT), Krosakiharima Europe B.V. (KEB), Krosaki Middle East and Africa Ltd. (KMEA).
Operations & Footprint: The Spanish manufacturing subsidiaries (KAMR and REF) excel in producing materials for the non-ferrous and cement sectors, which account for approximately 70% of their local sales. KEB in the Netherlands operates as a strategic sales hub combining global group products.
Strategic Focus: Utilizing the newly established KMEA in Cyprus to aggressively expand sales channels into the untapped Middle Eastern and African markets.

China and East Asia

Revenue Contribution: JPY 18.08 billion (10.1% of total revenue; 22.5% of overseas revenue).
Entities: Wuxi Krosaki Sujia Refractories Co., Ltd., YINGKOU KROSAKIHARIMA REFRACTORIES CO., LTD., Wuxi Krosaki Machinery Co., Ltd., KROSAKI VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED.
Operations & Footprint: Operates four manufacturing sites and one sales location in China, acting as a critical supply chain hub for global logistics. The Vietnam subsidiary, established in February 2025, targets Southeast Asia’s largest steel-producing country.
Strategic Focus: Combating intense local cost competition in China through rigorous equipment automation (e.g., YKR’s new automation plant) and actively capturing new market share across the rapidly industrializing Southeast Asian corridor.

The Americas

Entities: Krosaki USA Inc. (KUI), Krosaki IBAR Refratários LTDA. (KIR) .
Operations & Footprint: KUI focuses on high-performance flow control packages and REX-ROBO automation systems across the US, Canada, and Mexico. In Brazil, KIR operates as a vital joint venture alongside local partner IBAR to manufacture high-quality taphole clay.
Strategic Focus: Accelerating feasibility studies for establishing local manufacturing sites in the United States to directly supply the newly acquired United States Steel Corporation. The Brazilian joint venture is preparing to fully launch taphole clay manufacturing operations in August 2026.

Krosaki Harima Corporation logo

Financial Performance Analysis

The enterprise has demonstrated resilient financial execution, consistently delivering strong profitability metrics despite severe domestic macroeconomic headwinds and global supply chain inflation.

Multi-Year Trend Analysis

A review of the 11-year consolidated financial data reveals a transformative trajectory defined by immense overseas revenue growth and rigorous capital efficiency improvements.

FY2014: Net Sales JPY 110.43 billion; Ordinary Profit JPY 3.75 billion; ROIC 5.0%; Overseas Ratio 33.2%.
FY2019: Net Sales JPY 137.40 billion; Ordinary Profit JPY 9.76 billion; ROIC 8.2%; Overseas Ratio 37.1%.
FY2022: Net Sales JPY 165.20 billion; Ordinary Profit JPY 12.08 billion; ROIC 8.5%; Overseas Ratio 45.2%.
FY2023: Net Sales JPY 177.03 billion; Ordinary Profit JPY 16.39 billion; ROIC 9.7%; Overseas Ratio 45.6%.
FY2024: Net Sales JPY 177.92 billion; Ordinary Profit JPY 15.32 billion; ROIC 7.6%; Overseas Ratio 45.1%.

The enterprise has systematically increased its top-line revenue by over 60% since FY2014, fundamentally driven by the explosion of its Indian operations (which grew from JPY 14.94 billion in FY2014 to JPY 42.06 billion in FY2024). While FY2024 ROIC dipped to 7.6% due to an aggressive surge in capital investments and increased accounts receivable from long-settlement spot transactions, the core profitability structure remains vastly superior to historical averages.

Profit and Loss Analysis

For the fiscal year ending March 2025 (FY2024), the income statement reflects a masterclass in margin preservation through strategic price adjustments and relentless cost-cutting KMS activities.

Financial Metric	FY2023 (JPY Billion)	FY2024 (JPY Billion)	YoY Change
Consolidated Net Sales	177.03	177.92	+0.5%
Operating Profit	14.69	14.08	-4.1%
Operating Margin	8.3%	7.9%	-40 bps
Ordinary Profit	16.39	15.32	-6.5%
Net Profit	12.42	12.54	+0.9%
Depreciation	3.87	4.23	+9.3%

Revenue Dynamics: The slight 0.5% increase in total net sales masks underlying regional volatility. The intense volume drop caused by the second-lowest domestic crude steel production levels since the 1970s was entirely offset by massive volume growth in India and the successful transfer of inflationary costs to final selling prices.
Profit Margins: Ordinary profit declined 6.5% year-over-year, strictly due to the absence of a one-time non-operating foreign exchange gain recorded in FY2023. Operating profit was pressured by severe yen depreciation inflating imported raw material costs.
Net Profit: Despite the drop in operating and ordinary profit, the final Net Profit actually increased by 0.9% to JPY 12.54 billion, underscoring exceptional tax and extraordinary item management.
Key Ratios: Return on Sales (ROS) settled at a highly respectable 8.6%, comfortably exceeding the 2025 Management Plan target of 8.3%.

Balance Sheet Analysis

The balance sheet is heavily fortified, reflecting disciplined capital accumulation and strategic asset deployment.

Balance Sheet Item	FY2023 (JPY Billion)	FY2024 (JPY Billion)
Total Assets	179.02	187.06
Total Net Assets	92.70	101.64
Interest-Bearing Debt	36.88	41.74

Asset Growth: Total assets expanded by JPY 8.04 billion, driven by the capitalization of major infrastructure projects (such as the TRLK Converter Brick Plant) and elevated accounts receivable tied to overseas spot transactions.
Equity Position: Total net assets crossed the monumental JPY 100 billion threshold, reaching JPY 101.64 billion. This massive accumulation of retained earnings pushed the Equity Ratio to a highly secure 50.8%.
Leverage and Liquidity: Interest-bearing debt increased moderately to JPY 41.74 billion to fund global M&A and capacity expansion. However, the Debt/Equity (D/E) Ratio remains an ultra-conservative 0.44x, providing immense unutilized borrowing capacity.
Return on Equity (ROE): The ROE generated for shareholders was a highly lucrative 13.8%, demonstrating optimal utilization of the massive equity base.

Cash Flow Analysis

The cash flow statement reveals a strategic pivoting of generated capital directly into high-yield overseas infrastructure.

Cash Flow Category	FY2023 (JPY Billion)	FY2024 (JPY Billion)
Operating Cash Flow	13.72	3.14
Investing Cash Flow	(3.59)	(4.33)
Financing Cash Flow	(6.24)	0.99
Free Cash Flow	10.13	(1.19)

Operating Activities: Net cash provided by operating activities dropped sharply from JPY 13.72 billion to JPY 3.14 billion. This contraction was heavily influenced by the temporary swelling of working capital requirements, specifically the delayed settlement of large-scale spot transactions.
Investing Activities: Cash outflows for investing expanded to JPY 4.33 billion. Capital was aggressively deployed into plant automation in Wuxi, China, molding machinery in Spain, and the foundational construction of the new Indian plants.
Financing Activities: A net inflow of JPY 0.99 billion replaced the heavy JPY 6.24 billion outflow from the prior year, reflecting tactical borrowing to bridge the working capital cycle while funding capital expenditures.

Board of Directors and Leadership Team

Corporate governance is executed by a highly experienced, diverse, and independent Board of Directors that strictly oversees business execution.

Kazuhiro Egawa (Representative Director, President): Joined Nippon Steel in 1981. Possesses immense international business experience, having served as General Manager of the International Sales Department and Managing Corporate Officer for Usiminas and the Americas at Nippon Steel. Appointed President in June 2019.
Takeshi Yoshida (Director and Managing Corporate Officer): Joined Nippon Steel in 1985. Currently responsible for Sustainability Promotion, the Ceramics Unit, Purchasing, Accounting & Finance, and Corporate Planning.
Jumpei Konishi (Director and Managing Corporate Officer): Joined Nippon Steel in 1988. Currently responsible for Carbon Neutrality Promotion, the Refractories Manufacturing Unit, Research & Development, Technical Management, and Quality Assurance.
Masafumi Takeshita (Director and Managing Corporate Officer): Joined Krosaki Refractories in 1986. Currently responsible for Human & Plant Safety, Health and Environmental Unit, General Administration, Digital Innovation, Human Resources, and Risk Management.
Hisatake Okumura (Director and Managing Corporate Officer): Joined Nippon Steel in 1989. Commands the Refractories Global Sales Division and drives the global expansion strategy.
Ryusuke Miura (Director and Managing Corporate Officer): Joined Nippon Steel in 1986. Leads the Furnace Unit and serves as Representative Director of KROHARI CHIKURO CORPORATION.
Takuji Kato (Outside Director / Independent): Current Representative Director and President of Saibu Gas Co., Ltd. Brings extensive expertise in energy infrastructure and corporate management.
Yumi Akagi (Outside Director / Independent): Current Director and Managing Corporate Officer of Kyushu Railway Company. Provides vital perspectives on consumer-facing operations and complex logistics.
Kazuyuki Ishibashi (Outside Director / Independent): Current Representative Director and President of KRAFTIA CORPORATION (formerly Kyudenko). Offers critical oversight derived from decades of executive leadership in major contracting and engineering.

Subsidiaries, Associates, Joint Ventures

The enterprise expertly coordinates a global web of consolidated subsidiaries to execute its strategy of local production for local consumption.

TRL KROSAKI REFRACTORIES LIMITED (India): The crown jewel of the overseas portfolio. Generates JPY 42.06 billion in sales. It operates vast manufacturing hubs in Belpahar and Jharsuguda, mining operations, and a dedicated R&D Center. The entity maintains its own employee housing and hospitals, and holds the elite SA8000 certification.
KROSAKI AMR REFRACTARIOS, S.A.U. (Spain) & REFRACTARIA, S.A.U. (Spain): Crucial European manufacturing nodes located in Hernani and Siero. Together with REFRACTARIA TECHNOLOGIES, S.L.U., they dominate the regional cement and non-ferrous sectors.
YINGKOU KROSAKIHARIMA REFRACTORIES CO., LTD. (China) & Wuxi Krosaki Sujia Refractories Co., Ltd. (China): Massive automated manufacturing sites ensuring volume supply and cost competitiveness in the cutthroat East Asian arena.
Krosaki USA Inc. (US): The North American sales and service powerhouse headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana. Critical for deploying REX-ROBO automation to major US steelmakers.
Krosaki IBAR Refratários LTDA. (Brazil): A highly strategic joint venture located in Sao Paulo, established to manufacture next-generation taphole clay for the South American market.
KROHARI CHIKURO CORPORATION (Japan): The domestic subsidiary executing the highly complex maintenance and construction functions of the Furnace Business.

Physical Properties

The physical footprint comprises 20 global manufacturing plants optimized for logistical dominance.

Head Office: Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka, Japan.
Yahata Area & Bizen Area Plants (Japan): The massive domestic manufacturing bases. The Bizen area is particularly noted for its proximity to the Seto Inland Sea.
Setouchi Plant & Alumina Plant (Japan): Recently upgraded with fully automated packaging processes and modernized mixing/shaping equipment.
Nakano Dormitory: A newly constructed facility (March 2023) in Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture, dedicated to housing and training Furnace Business engineers.
Belpahar Manufacturing Complex (India): A sprawling industrial town managed by TRLK, complete with specialized AG nozzle plants and newly commissioned converter brick facilities.

Segment-wise Performance

Refractories Business: Sales decreased 2.2% YoY to JPY 148.5 billion. Operating profit decreased 9.8% to JPY 11.4 billion. Reason: Sharp drop in domestic and non-Indian overseas crude steel volume combined with heavy yen depreciation inflating imported raw material costs.
Furnace Business: Sales skyrocketed 29.6% YoY to JPY 19.7 billion. Operating profit exploded by 175.0% to JPY 1.5 billion. Reason: Highly successful upward revisions in maintenance unit pricing and the precise capture of massive ad-hoc construction orders during peak steelworks repair periods.
Ceramics Business: Sales decreased 5.1% YoY to JPY 7.8 billion. Operating profit dropped 43.3% to JPY 0.5 billion. Reason: Aggressive inventory adjustments by major semiconductor equipment clients and residential fuel cell manufacturers suppressing short-term order volumes.

Founders

The enterprise traces its genesis to the entrepreneurial vision of two pioneers in 1918.

Kenjiro Matsumoto: Associated with Yaskawa Matsumoto Shoten, he provided the foundational business acumen and capital required to launch the enterprise.
Sunao Kohra: A technical visionary previously involved with refractory technology at the Yawata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. Works. His engineering expertise allowed the immediate production of highly specialized silica bricks for open-hearth furnaces.

Shareholding Pattern

The company’s shares are traded on the elite TSE Prime Market. However, the fundamental structure of ownership is undergoing a terminal transformation.

Parent Holdings / Promoters: Nippon Steel Corporation acts as the controlling parent company.
Public / Institutional: The remaining float has historically been held by public and institutional investors. However, on August 1, 2025, the Board expressed full support for Nippon Steel’s Takeover Bid (TOB). Following the TOB’s conclusion and subsequent squeeze-out, the public float will be eliminated, transitioning ownership to 100% Nippon Steel control. As a direct consequence, the Board resolved to suspend all interim and year-end dividend payments for the fiscal year ending March 2026.

Parent

Nippon Steel Corporation is the parent entity. As one of the largest and most technologically advanced steelmakers globally, Nippon Steel dictates the strategic demand curve for high-grade refractories. In a massive geopolitical and economic move, Nippon Steel acquired the United States Steel Corporation (USS), converting it into a wholly-owned subsidiary. This historic acquisition fundamentally alters the demand vector for the enterprise, immediately opening the immense U.S. market to high-performance refractory exports and necessitating the rapid consideration of localized American manufacturing bases.

Investments and Capital Expenditure Plans

Management executes capital allocation with surgical precision, strictly governed by ROIC mandates.

Capital Expenditure Allocation: The 2025 Revised Management Plan radically expanded the five-year capital investment target from JPY 20.0 billion to JPY 35.0 billion. In FY2024 alone, JPY 8.53 billion was deployed. Priorities include full line automation in China (WKM), new converter brick plants in India (TRLK), and logistics automation at the domestic Sliding Gate Plate Plant.
R&D Spending: The enterprise systematically invests approximately 2% of total annual net sales strictly into Research & Development. Funding focuses heavily on establishing evaluation technologies for hydrogen reduction steelmaking, developing the Dry-Free monolithic series, and expanding the KROTECT thermal insulation portfolio.

Future Strategy

The enterprise’s long-term blueprint is heavily indexed to decarbonization, massive overseas growth, and absolute internal digital modernization.

Global Expansion: Aggressively capturing the Indian market’s projected 300 million ton steel capacity by 2030, establishing a new plant in Gujarat, and opening a new manufacturing site in the United States to supply USS.
Decarbonization (K-GenesisX): Transitioning the massive product catalog from fired bricks to unfired bricks, utilizing over 20% recycled raw materials, and expanding applications for the Dry-Free series to help customers drastically cut CO2.
Digital Transformation (DX): Fostering a “Digital DIY” culture where standard employees act as “citizen developers” utilizing low-code tools and RPA to independently automate their own administrative workflows, thereby obliterating operational inefficiencies.

Key Strengths

Unrivaled Intellectual Property: Holding 761 global patents ensures absolute technological supremacy in the development of next-generation flow control and monolithic refractories.
The “Integrator” Advantage: The unique ability to flawlessly combine raw refractory manufacturing with elite, on-the-ground furnace construction and maintenance services creates insurmountable switching costs for major steel clients.
Ceramics Diversification: Owning a 40% global market share in setter components for MLCC firing effectively hedges the enterprise against the cyclical volatility of the global steel market.

Key Challenges and Risks

Domestic Market Contraction: Japan’s crude steel production remains stagnant at roughly 80 million tons due to severe demographic labor shortages and structural industrial shifts, permanently capping domestic volume growth.
Raw Material and Energy Inflation: The manufacturing process is highly energy-intensive. Severe depreciation of the yen directly inflates the cost of globally sourced raw materials, requiring constant, aggressive price negotiations to protect operating margins.
Geopolitical and Supply Chain Shocks: Heavy reliance on global logistics makes the enterprise vulnerable to international conflicts and natural disasters (acute physical climate risks) that could disrupt the supply of critical raw materials or damage the network of 20 global plants.

Conclusion and Strategic Outlook

KROSAKI HARIMA CORPORATION stands at the precipice of its most profound evolution since its founding in 1919. Having successfully transformed from a domestic refractory brick manufacturer into a truly global comprehensive ceramics powerhouse, the enterprise now perfectly aligns its immense technological pedigree with the dual global megatrends of decarbonization and digital proliferation. By engineering the exact materials required for hydrogen reduction steelmaking and semiconductor lithography, the company guarantees its absolute relevance in the future economy. The impending integration as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel Corporation will strip away the constraints of public market short-termism, granting the enterprise the unlimited capital backing required to dominate the explosive Indian market, construct new production fortresses in the Americas, and achieve its ultimate goal of providing the No. 1 Value to Customers Worldwide.

FAQ Section

1. What is the main business of KROSAKI HARIMA CORPORATION?

The company is a comprehensive ceramics enterprise that develops, manufactures, and constructs refractories for industrial furnaces (primarily for steelmaking), while also producing fine ceramics and thermal insulation materials for semiconductor equipment and electronic components.

2. What are the company’s financial targets under the 2025 Revised Management Plan?

By the end of FY2025, the company targets JPY 180.0 billion in consolidated net sales, JPY 15.0 billion in ordinary profit, an ROS of 8.3% or more, and an ROIC of 9.0% or more.

3. What is the K-GenesisX brand?

K-GenesisX is the company’s sustainable products brand, launched to collectively represent all differentiated products and solutions possessing high environmental value, such as the Dry-Free series and KROTECT insulation.

4. How is the company responding to global decarbonization in the steel industry?

The company is rapidly developing ultra-durable refractories that can withstand the unique, high-temperature conditions of hydrogen-based reduction processes and electric arc furnaces, while transitioning its own manufacturing from fired to unfired bricks.

5. What is the status of the company’s listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange?

In August 2025, the Board resolved to support a takeover bid (TOB) by its parent company, Nippon Steel Corporation. Once completed, the company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary, and its shares will be delisted.

6. Where is the company’s largest overseas growth market?

India is the absolute primary growth market. Through its subsidiary TRL KROSAKI REFRACTORIES LIMITED, the company is aggressively expanding capacity to meet the Indian government’s target of 300 million tons of crude steel production capacity by 2030.

7. How many patents does the company hold?

As of FY2024, the enterprise holds a total of 761 patents globally, split between 388 Japanese patents and 389 overseas patents.

8. What is the “Digital DIY” initiative?

It is a core component of the company’s Digital Transformation (DX) strategy, encouraging all employees to act as “citizen developers” who independently utilize low-code tools and RPA to automate and improve their own administrative business processes.

Official Site: https://www.krosaki.co.jp/en

Source: Content on FirmsWorld.com is based on publicly available corporate filings, regulatory disclosures, annual reports, SEC 10-K filings, investor relations materials, and, where applicable, direct communications with the company.