“Furukawa Electric Accelerator 2018,” an Open Innovation Program by Furukawa Electric and Creww, Starts May 14
- A giant leap from manufacturing, 134 years after our establishment! We’re looking for startups to join us in creating innovative businesses! -

May 7, 2018

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.
Creww Inc.

From May 14, 2018, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (President: Keiichi Kobayashi, “Furukawa Electric” below) and Creww Inc. (Representative Director: Sorato Ijichi, “Creww” below) will start the "Furukawa Electric Accelerator 2018" program, in which we will create new businesses through open innovation(note 1) together with startup companies(note 2), leveraging Furukawa Electric’s managerial resources.

Additionally, we will establish a dedicated microsite within Creww’s website at the start of the program to receive applications from startups with fresh ideas and unique know-how that wish to leverage Furukawa Electric’s resources. Using this online selection process, Furukawa Electric and startups can swiftly go through the process of discovering synergy and taking this to the creation of a cooperative business model.

Since its establishment in 1884, Furukawa Electric has drawn on its material expertise in a wide range of fields, including electric wire, copper, and aluminum, as a manufacturer of non-ferrous metals. Through continuous technological innovation, we have supplied Japan and the larger world with technologies and businesses required by society, such as the construction of infrastructure to serve as the foundations of society and industry. In “Furukawa G Plan 2020: Delivering Sustained Profitable Growth,” our medium-term management plan unveiled in 2016, we positioned three points as its main initiatives: “Strengthen and reform businesses,” “Expand sales in the global market,” and “Step up efforts to tap into new markets.” In the same year, we established “Fun Lab” in Yokohama to further accelerate technological innovation. The theme of our new program is “A giant leap from manufacturing, 134 years after our establishment!” We seek to innovate the foundations for people’s lifestyles that support future society through co-creation of completely new businesses together with startups, that go beyond the infrastructure businesses with which we have been primarily involved to date, and to create new value that can develop communities and address challenges for society at large.

(note 1)Open innovation: A framework for co-creation of innovative businesses and services that is facilitated by cooperation outside of a company, rather than by relying solely on the company’s own managerial resources and technology.

(note 2)Startup: A fast-growing company that creates an unprecedented business model with its unique technology and ideas, and challenges existing markets.

About Furukawa Electric Group

Furukawa Electric (TSE; 5801, ISIN; JP3827200001) Group started business in 1884, when its copper-smelting facility and wire manufacturing factory was established. Since then Furukawa Electric has become pioneers in the latest technologies by addressing diverse technological issues. Furukawa Electric has released products in a number of areas, including telecommunications, electronics, automobiles, and construction, with the three types of materials it works with at their core, namely, optics, plastics, and metals. Many of these products have attained the top global market share, and all of its products have contributed to society in numerous business areas. Furukawa Electric reported consolidated revenues of JPY 843.3 billion (approximately USD 7.8B) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017.

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