■ Meetings with Material Manufacturers Also Change
It is not just
“Please give us this material.”
Information such as
high-speed peeling on customer equipment,
an 80°C environment,
and the need for thinning
is conveyed to the material manufacturer.
Then proposals come out such as
changing the liner,
changing the material grade,
and a different adhesive composition.
In other words, OTIS can take on the role of translating customer process information for material manufacturers.
■ Changing “Can You Process It?” into “What Do You Want to Establish?”
The difference in this question is large.
Can you process it?
That ends with YES/NO.
What do you want to establish?
Then the real purposes come out:
heat,
insulation,
automation,
and cost.
In other words, in OTIS’s proposal-based sales, the purpose is asked before the processing method.
■ Meetings with Equipment Manufacturers Also Change
It is not just
“Please build equipment that can apply this component.”
Talk with the equipment manufacturer on the premise that
the component shape can be changed,
and the reel pitch can also be changed.
Then
optimization is possible from both the equipment side and the component side.
In other words, rather than fitting a fixed component to the equipment, both are designed simultaneously.
■ Four-Party Collaboration Among the Customer, Material Manufacturers, Equipment Manufacturers and OTIS
The customer:
required functions and processes.
Material manufacturers:
material performance.
Equipment manufacturers:
automation technology.
OTIS:
processing, lamination and supply formats.
These four parties connect.
Then challenges that could not be solved by
materials alone,
processing alone,
or equipment alone
become easier to solve.
Within this, OTIS can stand in the position that connects materials to processes.
■ Understanding the Customer's Process Avoids Over-Dependence on Material Manufacturers
A company that processes specific material A.
Then if A stops being adopted, projects disappear too.
But a company that
understands customers’ heat dissipation, insulation and automation challenges
can stay involved even if it changes to material B.
In other words, understanding customer processes leads to a shift from material dependence to challenge dependence.
■ Look at Functional Challenges, Not Product Names
For smartphones.
For EVs.
For AI servers.
The markets differ.
But looking at the processes, there are common challenges:
applying TIM,
applying insulating film,
laminating metal foil,
and automating.
In other words, what OTIS aims for is not just market names.
It is process challenges that occur repeatedly across industries.
■ Finding Themes for Horizontal Deployment from Customer Processes
At customer A,
automatic application of thin-film TIM
is solved.
This technology
may also be usable in
AI servers,
automotive,
and medical devices.
In other words, individual projects can be deployed horizontally by abstracting them into common processing technologies.
■ Do Not End a Project as Mere Processing Know-How
Jigs dedicated to this customer.
Conditions dedicated to this customer.
If it ends with just these,
it cannot be deployed horizontally.
Why did it work?
Which conditions are important?
These are organized.
Then they can be used in the next project.
In other words, customer process proposals are also activities that increase OTIS’s technical assets.
■ Understanding Customer Processes Also Connects to Sales Materials
For example,
“TIM processing possible”
alone is weak.
“Converting manually applied TIM to reels for an automatic application process”
is concrete.
“Turning three components and three processes into one component through irregular-shape lamination”
shows customer value.
In other words, sales capability also rises by communicating not technology names but process improvement cases.
■ It Also Suits Web Content
What customers search for is not only
“high-precision die-cutting companies.”
It may be challenges such as
TIM hard to apply,
graphite automatic application,
and insulating film air bubbles.
If customer processes are understood, such challenge-based content can be written.
In other words, it also connects to technical marketing.
■ If It Is Optimal for the Customer, Proposals That Reduce OTIS Processing Are Also Possible
An adhesive layer that is really unnecessary.
Thermal performance is better without it.
Complex processing.
It works with a simple shape too.
Then processing steps decrease.
In the short term, processing sales may decrease.
But it is good for the customer.
If such proposals can be made, trust increases.
In other words, looking at the customer’s process is
not maximizing one’s own processing volume, but optimizing the customer’s entire process.
■ Sometimes It Is Better to Consult the Material Manufacturer Directly
A problem with the material itself.
Processing at OTIS does not solve it.
Then connect them to the material manufacturer.
If it is a problem on the cooling equipment side, the equipment manufacturer.
If analysis is needed, a specialist company.
Do not make everything an OTIS project.
This is also important.
■ The More Clearly "What We Cannot Do" Is Stated, the More Reliable Proposals Become
OTIS is
not a material development company,
not a dedicated CFD company,
and not a cooling equipment manufacturer.
However, it can contribute in
component processing,
lamination,
supply formats,
and volume production processes.
In other words, customer value is higher when OTIS clarifies its own role and teams up with the necessary specialist companies.
■ Looking at the Customer's Process Also Reveals What Is Outside OTIS's Expertise
Insufficient capacity of the liquid cooling system itself.
Chip internal design.
Heat sink design.
These cannot be solved by OTIS alone.
So collaborate with specialist companies.
What matters is not “OTIS will solve everything.”
It is deciding early “where OTIS’s area is and where collaboration begins.”
■ The Value of Getting Involved from the Customer's Early Development Stage
After the drawing is completed.
After the material is decided.
A processing request comes to OTIS.
At this stage, there is little room for change.
On the other hand, if involved from the stage where
a heat problem has appeared,
materials are being selected,
and shapes are being studied,
processability,
mass producibility,
and automation
can be factored in first.
In other words, just because a processing company is a later process does not mean it should be called in last.
■ Reducing Rework Through Early Participation
Material decided.
Prototype successful.
Right before volume production.
It cannot be applied automatically.
Shape change.
Thermal evaluation redone.
This is prevented.
At an early stage, check
can this material be peeled?
can this shape be converted to reels?
In other words, OTIS’s early participation also leads to faster development.
■ Doing Prototype Design and Volume Production Design at the Same Time
Only the prototype works.
Volume production will be considered later.
Rather than that,
prototype shape,
volume production processing,
and automation
are considered at the same time.
This reduces changes from prototyping to volume production.
In other words, looking at the customer’s process is also eliminating the divide between prototyping and volume production.
■ The Customer's Annual Quantity Is Also an Important Design Condition
100 units.
100,000 units.
10 million units.
The optimal processing method differs.
For small quantities,
laser
and manual application
may be fine.
For large quantities,
dies,
reels,
and automation
are needed.
In other words, quantity is not just a quotation condition, but a process design condition.
■ Also Ask About Future Quantities
Currently 100 units.
100,000 units next year.
Such a project.
If it is made in a volume-production-ready shape from the start, it goes smoothly.
If the prototype method is decided only on current quantities, it will need to be remade later.
In other words, it is important to prototype working back from the future of volume production.
■ Also Ask About the Customer's Capital Investment Plans
Automation planned for next year.
Then consider reel conversion from now.
Currently manual application.
But equipment introduction in the future.
Then the component shape can be matched to the future equipment.
In other words, by a processing company understanding the customer’s production plans, long-term proposals can be made.
■ Customer Process Proposals Take Longer in Sales
Simple processing is fast:
drawing,
quotation,
order.
Process proposals require
on-site confirmation,
prototyping,
equipment evaluation,
and volume production verification.
It takes time.
But once built into the process, it is not easily replaced.
In other words, the more a project enters the process, the deeper the relationship and the higher the continuity.
■ Becoming Less Likely to Be Compared on Price Alone
Die-cutting to the same drawing.
Company A 10 yen.
OTIS 11 yen.
Easy to compare on price.
But if OTIS proposes even
shapes that are easy to automate,
reel conversion,
and process reduction,
it is no longer a simple unit price comparison.
In other words, customer process proposals prevent commoditization of processing companies.
■ From Drawing-Price Competition to Process-Value Competition
Not “who can make the same thing cheapest,” but
“how can the customer’s entire process be improved.”
The axis of competition is changed to this.
This is very important for OTIS.
■ OTIS's Perspective: From a Processing Company to a Company That Establishes Processes
High-precision die-cutting.
Microfabrication.
Thin-film processing.
Lamination.
Irregular-shape lamination.
Reel conversion.
All of these are important technologies.
But what customers ultimately want is not processing technology itself.
Being able to make products stably.
Being able to mass-produce.
Quality not varying.
In other words, what OTIS should aim to be is not a processing company, but a company that establishes customer processes.
■ From "What Can You Make?" to "Which Processes Can You Establish?"
Conventionally,
PET processing,
double-sided tape processing,
and metal foil processing
were the categories.
From now on, also think in categories such as
automatic application of thermal management components,
integration of multifunctional materials,
and volume production stabilization of thin-film components.
In other words, it can change from introducing the company by equipment and material to introducing the company by customer process challenge.
■ Heat Problems Are an Ideal Theme for OTIS to Evolve into a Process Company
Heat problems
are not solved by materials alone.
Interfaces,
shape,
insulation,
adhesion,
automation,
and volume production
are involved.
In other words, they make it easy to use OTIS’s multiple processing technologies across the board.
That is why thermal management is not just a new market.
It also becomes a symbolic theme for OTIS to evolve into a “company that establishes processes.”
■ The Meaning of "For Heat, Go to OTIS"
OTIS does not make the world’s highest thermal conductivity material.
It does not design liquid cooling equipment.
It does not design GPUs.
However, when there is trouble at the stage of
how to process thermal materials,
how to laminate them,
how to apply them,
how to automate,
and how to mass-produce,
customers consult OTIS.
Create this position.
In other words,
“For heat, go to OTIS” does not mean doing everything about heat in-house.
It means becoming the company consulted when bringing thermal management into actual processes.
■ What OTIS Can Do
At OTIS, by combining
● Processing proposals based on customer processes
● High-precision die-cutting
● Microfabrication
● Thin-film processing
● TIM processing
● Graphite processing
● Insulating material processing
● Metal foil processing
● Adhesive processing
● High-precision lamination
● Partial lamination
● Irregular-shape lamination
● Half-cutting
● Carrier design
● Reel-to-reel processing
● Supply formats for automation
● Image inspection
● Volume production stabilization
● Process design from prototyping to volume production
● Collaboration with material manufacturers
● Collaboration with equipment manufacturers
● DFM proposals with customer process improvement in mind
we can contribute not only to material processing but to establishing the customer’s entire process.
■ Outside OTIS's Expertise
OTIS is not a company that specializes in
● Basic development of thermal materials themselves
● Dedicated CFD analysis
● Semiconductor chip design
● Designing liquid cooling equipment itself
● Manufacturing automatic application equipment itself
As needed, we work with
material manufacturers,
analysis companies,
equipment manufacturers,
and customers’ design departments.
What OTIS takes on is
the area of bringing high-performance materials into volume production components that can actually be used in customer processes.
■ Summary: A Processing Company's Value Lies Outside the Drawing
Making the drawing accurately.
This is the basics for a processing company.
But beyond it lies the customer’s process.
Peeling.
Holding.
Applying.
Pressing.
Inspecting.
Automating.
Mass-producing.
Components are used in all of these.
That is why a good processed component is
not only a component per the drawing.
It is a component that delivers the required function within the customer’s process, without strain, stably.
For that, it is necessary not only to
look at drawings
and look at materials,
but also to
look at the floor,
look at equipment,
look at work,
look at defects,
look at volume production quantities,
and look even at future automation.
Only then do proposals emerge such as
shape changes,
partial adhesion,
irregular-shape lamination,
reel conversion,
and integration.
If one only makes the shape the customer specifies, it is a processing company.
Understanding the customer’s purpose,
changing processing methods,
changing shapes,
changing supply methods,
sometimes connecting even material manufacturers and equipment manufacturers,
and thinking until the customer’s process flows stably.
If one goes that far,
it changes from a processing company to a company that establishes processes.
OTIS is not a thermal material manufacturer.
It is not a cooling equipment manufacturer either.
It is not a semiconductor design company either.
However, between material performance and product performance,
it can connect the real processes of
shape,
interface,
lamination,
application,
automation,
and volume production.
Making materials usable.
Making components handleable by equipment.
Making prototypes mass-producible.
Connecting these three.
That is the essence of proposals based on the customer’s process,
and the value OTIS should aim for in heat problems.
Column Supervisor: Koji Kakumoto (President, OTIS Co., Ltd.)
After studying abroad and working in planning and development at a trading company, he joined OTIS Co., Ltd. in 2011. While primarily working in the Corporate Planning Department, he has also served concurrently in manufacturing and technical divisions, and since 2018 has served as President, working to drive business growth and strengthen the organization.
This article is a general technical explanation intended for educational purposes and does not refer to any specific company, product, or technology.
