Disco Corporation

DISCO Corporation (株式会社ディスコ, Kabushiki-gaisha Disuko) is a Japanese precision tools maker, especially for the semiconductor production industry.

DISCO Corporation
Native name
株式会社ディスコ
Public KK
Traded asTYO: 6146
ISINJP3548600000
IndustrySemiconductor
FoundedMay 5, 1937 (1937-05-05) in Kure city, Hiroshima as Dai-Ichi Seitosho Company
FounderMitsuo Sekiya
Headquarters
Omori-Kita, Ōta, Tokyo 162-8557
,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Hitoshi Mizorogi
(Chairman of the Board)
Kazuma Sekiya
(President and CEO)
Products
Revenue JPY 134.2 billion (FY 2016) (US$ 1.2 billion) (FY 2016)
JPY 24.2 billion (FY 2016) (US$ 223 million) (FY 2016)
Number of employees
4,161 (as of March 31, 2017)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

The company makes dicing saws and laser saws to cut semiconductor silicon wafers and other materials; grinders to process silicon and compound semiconductor wafers to ultra-thin levels; polishing machines to remove the grinding damage layer from the wafer back-side and to increase chip strength.[2]

The company's Kuwabata plant in Kure, Hiroshima

History

The company was founded as Daiichi-Seitosho in May 1937, as an industrial abrasive wheel manufacturer.[3]

After World War II Japan faced a construction boom which also helped DISCO to boost its sales. The company's grinder discs were in high demand from utility companies, which needed them to manufacture watt-meters.[4]

In December 1968 the company developed and released an ultra-thin resinoid cutting wheel, Microncut. The wheel contained diamond powder and as a result it was capable of making sharp, precision cuts as demanded in the semiconductor manufacturing process. There were no cutting machines available in the market on which ultra-thin precision wheels could be mounted and run, DISCO decided to develop its own machine in 1975. The cutting machine, DAD-2h, received instant recognition from semiconductor companies, including Texas Instruments.[3]

The company adopted the name of DISCO Corporation in May 1977,[3] was listed with the Japan Securities Dealers' Association in October 1989, and entered the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 1999.

In 2011, Disco launched its radical management strategy, and since then "its stock price has increased 4x and its margins have improved from 16% to 26%." The system was created to have an "intense free-market atmosphere that eliminates redundant tasks." This resulted to having employees at the company operate like an autonomous startup, "using an internal currency called “Will” (short for “Personal Will”) to rent desk space, pay colleagues for consultation, or bid on projects." In a report made by Bloomberg, "employees at Disco pay for everything from conference-room access (which costs $100/hour) to advice from coworkers (rates vary)."[5]

References
  1. "Corporate Outline". DISCO Corporation. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  2. "Company Profile". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Inc. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  3. Ishikawa, Akira; Nej, Tai (2004). Top Global Companies in Japan. World Scientific. pp. 64–67. ISBN 978-981-238-684-7.
  4. Nakayama, Wataru; Boulton, WIlliam; Pecht (June 25, 1999). The Japanese Electronics Industry. CRC Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-58488-026-4.
  5. "At renegade free-market workplaces, the best perks are paying to use your own desk". The Hustle. 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
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