1975年創業のサヤカ（従業員46人、東京都大田区）は基板分割機の日本におけるトップメーカーです。治工具などを下請生産していた同社は、自社製品を目指し様々な機械の開発を試みていました。91年に「バブル景気」が崩壊、売上は激減、思い切って従業員の4割を新市場開拓に専念させたところ、基板分割時に発生するストレスを抑えて、きれいに切りたいという企業が多いとの情報が得られました。基板分割のニーズを調査することにし、たまっていた技術者1,000枚の名刺を基にアンケートを送付、多かったのが、基板の種々の形に対応して分割したいという要望でした。その結果、92年にドリルが回転して自由に動けるルーター式基板分割機の発売となりました。基板分割というニッチ分野での潜在需要を基にした中小企業らしい製品開発です。自社製品はできましたが、2001，02年のIT不況の直撃を受けました。同社のカタログには現在、11タイプの製品が載っていますが、この当時、売れ筋の製品は少し価格が高めの1タイプしかなく、これが売れなくなったからです。それ以後、自社製品の多様化に注力し、毎年のように新機種の開発を始めます。多品種少量生産用として基板を人手で供給し、人手で取り出すタイプから、少品種大量生産用として完全無人化したタイプまで取りそろえました。ルーター式以外の分割・切断方式も開発しました。顧客の生産ラインの特徴に合わせ、多様な機種を揃えているのは同社だけです。かつて5社あった国内後発ライバル企業は現在2社、猿渡哲之社長は同社の国内シェアは6～7割と推定しています。

同社は世界市場にも進出、グローバル・ニッチ企業へと進化しています。輸出のきっかけは96年のセミコンジャパンへの出展です。海外商社から引き合いがあり、現在では海外向けが売上の6～7割を占めるまでになっています。特に2008年のリーマンショック後の円高・日本企業の海外生産増加で、海外向けが増えました。日系企業だけでなく、海外大手企業も購入しています。

海外市場拡大を可能にしたのは国内外商社とのネットワーク形成もありますが、根本は優れた品質です。中国に進出した大手自動車部品会社が安価な中国製に切り替えたことがあります。ところがある時期一斉に壊れ始め、それをフォローするサービスもなかったため、サヤカの製品に戻りました。同社製品は耐久性が優れているだけではありません。基板上の部品実装密度が高まるにつれ、部品にストレスを与えないで分割することが難しくなります。蓄積したノウハウによりこの難題に対処しました。切断中の切りくずなどゴミが実装部品に付着すると思わぬ故障の原因にもなり、ゴミをゼロにしろというオーダーが来たこともあります。作業のタクトタイムを短くすることも要求されます。サヤカ製品はこのような課題をクリアし、高機能化していることが海外でも競争力を高めているのです。

サヤカは国内で世界に通じる高付加価値製品を作るとしています。そのためには製品開発の手を緩めることはできない、緩めたら息の根が止まると言ってます。ニッチ市場に狙いを定め、国内市場を制覇、世界へ延びるニッチ市場と共に国内にいながらグローバル・ニッチ企業へ発展する。その原動力はたゆまぬ技術開発――こういうサヤカ発展の道筋は中小企業発展の戦略として大いに参考になります。

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Founded in 1975, Sayaka (46 employees, Ota-ku, Tokyo) is a leading manufacturer of board dividers in Japan. Sayaka was subcontracting jigs and tools, but at the same time trying to develop various in-house made machines. As the "bubble economy" collapsed in 1991 and sales fell sharply, the company dared to devote 40% of its manpower to developing new markets. And it turned out that many companies wanted to reduce the stress generated when dividing the board so that the cut looks beautiful. They further investigated the needs for board division by sending a questionnaire to 1,000 engineers based on the business cards the company kept, and found that many of them liked to divide the board according to various shapes. As a result, in 1992, the company could launch a router-type board divider that allows the drill to move freely while rotating. It is a product development that took advantage of the characteristics of SME, based on the potential demand in the niche field of board division. Although the company was able to develop its own products, it was hit directly by the IT recession in 2001 and 2002. The company's catalog currently lists 11 types of products, but at that time, there was only one type of top-selling product with a slightly higher price, and this was no longer sold well. Since then, the company has focused on diversifying its products and began developing new models almost every year. The company has a lineup of products by type, ranging from production for many kinds in small quantities with manual board feeding, to the type that is completely unmanned for mass production. They have also developed a division / disconnection method other than the router method. They are the only company that offers a wide variety of models to suit the characteristics of the customer's production line. There used to be five domestic rivals, and now there are two, and President Saruwatari Tetsuyuki estimates that the company's domestic market share is 60 to 70%.

Sayaka has expanded into the global market and has evolved into a global niche company. They started exporting after exhibiting at Semicon Japan in 1996. Since then they receive inquiries from overseas trading companies, and now overseas sales account for 60 to 70% of sales. In particular, due to the appreciation of the yen after the Lehman shock in 2008 and the increase in overseas production by Japanese companies, overseas sales increased. Not only Japanese companies but also major overseas companies are purchasing.

It was the formation of networks with domestic and overseas trading companies that made it possible to expand the overseas market, but the fundamental reason is the excellent quality of Sayaka. Sometime, a major auto parts company that expanded into China switched to cheaper products made in China. However, after a while, they started to break all at once, and there was no service to follow them, so they returned to Sayaka's products. Sayaka's products are not only durable. As the component mounting density on the board increases, it becomes more difficult to divide the components without stress. Sayaka has addressed this challenge with her accumulated know-how. If dust such as chips during cutting adheres to the mounted parts, it may cause an unexpected failure, and there have been orders to reduce the dust to zero. It is also required to shorten the work tact time. Sayaka's products have cleared all these issues and are becoming more sophisticated, which makes them more competitive overseas.

Sayaka states that it will make world-class high value-added products in Japan. For that reason, it is impossible to loosen the hand of product development, and if it is loosened, it will stop breathing. Aim at the niche market, dominate the domestic market, and develop into a global niche company while staying in Japan with the niche market that extends to the world. The driving force is continuous technological development - this path of Sayaka development is a great reference as a strategy for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.