The plant tour was divided into two groups. Group A departed from Nagoya Station and visited NJT Copper Tube Corporation, one of the largest copper tube manufacturers in Japan. Group B departed from Toyohashi Station and headed to Topy Industries, Ltd. Toyohashi Plant, an electric arc furnace steelmaker that uses steel scrap. The two groups met shortly before noon for a lunch break in Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture. In the afternoon, participants visited SANKO KINZOKU CO.,LTD., a nonferrous metal scrap dealer specializing in copper, and Recycling Tech Japan Co., Ltd, a company engaged in the recycling and reuse of discarded gaming machines, solar panels, and industrial waste materials.
Topy Industries, Ltd. Toyohashi Plant
Topy Industries, Ltd. Toyohashi Plant began operations in 1958 as a steelmaking facility using electric arc furnaces. Supported by the concentration of the automotive industry in Aichi Prefecture, the Toyohashi Plant serves as a core production base for the company’s metal processing business.
Steel scrap recovered from end-of-life industrial products and structures is melted in electric arc furnaces and processed in an integrated manner into steel materials, wheels, and crawler tracks.
Since its founding, Topy Industries has positioned steel recycling as a core business. One of its key strengths lies in the advanced integration of production line capabilities and functions, enabled by highly precise production planning. The company currently holds a domestic market share of approximately 90% for bus and truck wheels, 60% for steel wheels, and 40% for crawler tracks for hydraulic excavators, establishing its position as a leading player in the industry.
During the tour, participants observed the steel scrap yard, the control room for the electric arc furnace, and the rolling process for recycled steel products. Some participants joined the tour specifically to visit the Toyohashi Plant, and active discussions and questions took place on site. In particular, there was strong interest in environmental initiatives, including operating conditions for electric furnaces, energy loads during operations, and future policies regarding the transition to green power.
NJT Copper Tube Corporation
NJT Copper Tube Corporation was founded in 1987 and carries forward a history of more than 100 years in copper extrusion and rolling. The visit coincided with a scheduled maintenance day, and the company’s signature 5,000 tons extrusion press was not in operation. However, participants were provided with a detailed overview of the scale of the equipment and the overall manufacturing processes.
Large quantities of billets in a wide range of dimensions are stored within the plant to ensure a stable supply and uninterrupted operation of the production lines. One of the company’s main products is copper tubing for air conditioners. Heat exchange efficiency is enhanced by forming grooves on the inner surface of the tubes. After the copper tube is heated and softened, a grooved plug is pressed against the interior and rotated multiple times to create precise groove patterns. As required performance varies depending on air conditioner design, groove shapes are adjusted to meet individual customer specifications. The company is also engaged in the development of corrosion resistant copper tubes to help prevent refrigerant leakage caused by corrosion.
During the matte finishing process, anti-oxidation treatments are applied, and temporary tent enclosures are installed to prevent discoloration under high-humidity conditions. In addition, the internal gas within the tubes is replaced in order to ensure stable product quality. Most straight tubes and coil products are supplied primarily to the domestic market. As even trace levels of impurities can have a direct impact on product performance, strict control is exercised over the composition of scrap materials used as raw inputs.
SANKO KINZOKU CO.,LTD.
SANKO KINZOKU CO.,LTD. is engaged in the sorting, processing, and sale of nonferrous metal scrap, handling a wide range of materials including copper, aluminum, brass, and phosphor copper. The company has operated a yard in Toyoake City for 25 years. Its key strength lies in the meticulous manual sorting of copper scrap, which enhances quality in a market where prices and material quality fluctuate significantly.
The value of copper scrap varies greatly depending on the amount of attached materials and contaminants. Skilled workers visually inspect and manually separate materials to achieve consistent grades, identifying subtle differences that cannot be fully addressed through mechanical sorting.
On the day of the tour, many participants were from companies handling aluminum and copper scrap. Numerous questions were raised regarding sorting standards, recycling flows, and current conditions of price fluctuations. Participants listened attentively to explanations while handling the scrap themselves, and active information exchange took place among attendees. As business cards were exchanged and discussions continued, the tour time passed quickly.
Recycling Tech Japan Co., Ltd.
Recycling Tech Japan Co., Ltd. was established in 2003 and focuses on environmental businesses including the recycling and reuse of gaming machines, as well as the recycling of solar panels and liquid crystal display panels. The company’s strong emphasis on reuse originates from an earlier experience in 1992, when it established a company to supply packaging materials to a major electronics manufacturer’s factory in Singapore. By reusing the packaging materials themselves, the company successfully reduced both costs and environmental impact.
During the tour, participants observed reuse and recycling processes through the dismantling of gaming machines. A gaming machine consists of numerous components, including sensors that detect ball passage, circuit boards, and liquid crystal displays. As structures vary by model and manufacturer, dismantling is complex and largely performed manually. In some cases, more than 100 components are removed from a single unit. Reusable parts are directed toward reuse, while components that cannot be reused are sent for recycling. Due to this complexity, the introduction of automated dismantling equipment remains challenging, making manual labor indispensable.
Nagoya is regarded as the birthplace of gaming machine culture and continues to be home to many manufacturers, resulting in high distribution volumes. Recent changes in smoking environments have reduced plastic discoloration caused by cigarette smoke, and incoming machines are generally in relatively good condition. However, unpopular models are replaced within 3 to 6 months, and usage periods are often less than 3 years, leading to a steady supply of discarded machines.
Gaming machines themselves are purchased at positive value, while wooden components are difficult to recycle and represent the only material requiring disposal costs. Glass materials are recycled in collaboration with the company’s solar panel recycling operations.
Anticipating a contraction in the gaming machine market, the company has expanded over the past 1 year into the dismantling, recycling, and reuse of personal computers. In addition to dismantling gaming machines, the company carries out physical destruction of storage media and removal of batteries. Items brought in for disposal are generally purchased at positive value. With the exception of wood, materials such as plastics, glass, and metals are dismantled in a way that ensures they can be fully recycled or reused, thereby improving the efficiency of upcycling.
Through this plant tour, participants were able to experience in a single day the full cycle through which materials are created, circulated, and returned to value, from copper and steel manufacturing sites to scrap sorting and dismantling operations. A common theme across all sites was the importance of precision, supported by human skill, in determining final product quality. This reinforced the reality that the foundation of the circular economy lies not in waste treatment, but in advanced processing technologies.
Through the lectures held on the previous day and the plant tour itself, it became clear that Japan’s recycling industry is not simply focused on circulating resources. Rather, it aims to strengthen its presence as an industry positioned as an extension of Japan’s manufacturing expertise, leveraging precise component separation and advanced recycling technologies.
Active exchanges of views took place among tour participants representing material manufacturers, scrap dealers, and recycling businesses. The tour reaffirmed that a circular society cannot be achieved through isolated efforts, but instead requires collaboration across the entire industry. It also provided a valuable opportunity to recognize both the continuity between industries and the underlying strength of Japan’s manufacturing capabilities.
(IRuniverse Midori Fushimi)
