Quality Management

Our Approach

Mitsui Kinzoku Group, which operates in diverse fields such as communications, electronics, and automobiles, has been pursuing quality that meets the trust of customers globally. 

As a standard for our commitment to quality across each business area and at each domestic and international site, we have established the "Basic Quality Policy." This policy is shared and practiced by all employees to provide safe and high-quality products and services.

We take the incident of improper quality control at one of our group companies in 2024 very seriously. To prevent recurrence and regain trust, we are making tireless efforts across the entire Group. We consider opinions from customers as an asset, and through achieving "optimal quality" and "customer satisfaction," we aim to be a company trusted by society.

* Fundamental Quality Policy applies to all sites of the Mitsui Kinzoku Group worldwide.

Strengthening the Quality Assurance System

To further strengthen and oversee the quality assurance function across the entire group, we established the Quality Assurance Department as a headquarters function in 2018. The Department's main roles include planning and promoting activities related to quality assurance at each business unit and group company, conducting audits to ensure the effectiveness of quality assurance, developing human resources in quality assurance, and disseminating internal and external information on quality assurance within the group.

Moreover, to facilitate the sharing of quality information within the group, we hold monthly "Quality Assurance Committee" meetings to discuss company-wide policies and systems, and to promote collaboration, audits, and training with each business division and group company. Additionally, we hold semi-annual "Quality Assurance Department Heads Meeting" to share issues and improvement examples from each site, aiming to establish a cross-group quality culture and strengthen collaboration among the Quality Assurance Departments.

Quality Assurance System

Reinforcement of the Quality Compliance System

Mitsui Kinzoku Group has established its own "Quality Assurance Guidelines (QAGL)" to strengthen the management system, enhance the reliability of test and inspection data, and implement self-inspections and audits of quality compliance within business units. Based on these guidelines, we have developed a quality compliance system.

Through self-inspections and audits, we verify the reliability of test and inspection data and ensure consistency between the quality we guarantee and our technical capabilities. Additionally, we are promoting the digitization of inspection data, with plans to complete system implementation at all domestic sites by the end of FY2025, followed by a phased rollout to overseas sites.

Furthermore, we conduct focused audits based on risk-based assessments* to strengthen our quality compliance framework from both recurrence prevention and proactive prevention perspectives.

＊Risk-based assessment = assessing the risk magnitude from each indicator

Photo: （Left） Internal quality audit at an overseas site       Photo:（Right） Internal quality audit at a site in Japan

 

Quality Management System Certification

Quality Assurance Month Initiatives 

During the "quality month" (November), the followings initiatives were implemented for all employees in our group to raise awareness for quality. In FY2025, based on the case of Mitsui Kinzoku Perlite Co., LTD., we focus on the following activities:

• Dissemination of messages from top management and the chairman of the Special Investigation Committee*
• Dialogue sessions between quality assurance managers and on-site personnel
• Quality compliance training (including case studies of Mitsui Kinzoku Perlite Co., LTD.)
• Archive distribution of training videos for managementMaking the archive of training videos for management available to all employees

＊Special Investigation Committee on quality issues at Mitsui Kinzoku Perlite Co., Ltd.

Quality Assurance Training and Awareness-Raising of Quality Compliance

Aiming to enhance its overall quality assurance capabilities and prevent recurrence of improper quality control, Mitsui Kinzoku Group systematically develops trainings on the QAGL and quality compliance, incorporating it into employee training at all levels. To ensure that all employees, from new hires to specialized professionals, share a quality mindset and improve their practical skills, we conduct training on management techniques, statistics, industrial engineering (IE), process thinking, and other quality improvement methodologies through both classroom sessions and web-based learning (MLP*).

＊MLP＝ Mitsui-Kinzoku Learning Platform

Photo: Training at a site in Japan

In the Group, employees are engaged in small group activities (GK) with the aim of developing human resources, revitalizing the workplace, and improving work. In the GK, we are striving to improve the quality of work to contribute to constitutional improvement.

At the same time we aim at human development to respect the human nature of each employee, draw out their abilities and make workplace truly creative and vibrant. In recent years, the GK activities have become widespread not only in Japanese sites but also in overseas ones.

Photo:（Left） The GK presentation for FY2024
Photo:（Right） Confirmation of the actual items at the GK meeting in China

Results of Quality Management

In 2024, improper quality control was discovered at one of our subsidiaries. We are sincerely working on preventing recurrence across the entire group.

Striving to prevent the recurrence of misconduct

In response to the improper quality control activities at Mitsui Kinzoku Perlite Co., Ltd., we established a special investigation committee that includes external experts (chaired by INOUE Hiroshi, Outside Director and Audit & Supervisory Committee Member of Mitsui Kinzoku). The results of the investigation were made public on April 4, 2025. 
We take this issue seriously as a challenge for the entire group and are promoting recurrence prevention measures based on the following four pillars.

• Strengthening the quality assurance and audit systems
• Revising quality assurance rules and ensuring thorough training
• Enhancing inter-departmental collaboration and further activating the internal whistle-blowing system
• Rebuilding a corporate culture that prioritizes "Quality as the top management priority"

Under the policy of focusing on quality rather than immediate due dates and profit, we are united in our efforts to restore trust. Additionally, we will designate the aforementioned April 4th as "Quality Day" and will develop activities to reflect on the inappropriate actions and to further instill quality compliance.

Non-Compliance, Product Incidents, and Recalls

In the Mitsui Kinzoku Group, there was a non-compliance related to the Standards for Labeling Quality of Soil Improvement Materials (Soil Fertility Enhancement Act) at Mitsui Kinzoku Perlite Co., Ltd. in FY2024. The report to the supervisory authority and corrective actions for this non-compliance have been completed.

For other products, non-compliance incidents didn’t happen regarding four Japanese product safety acts and product liability in the Group. Additionally, there was no product accident and product recall.

Products safety information provision

Mitsui Kinzoku Group shares products safety information with customers through specification form, technical documentation and SDS.

Starting in FY2025, to provide more appropriate information about our products to customers and society, we have begun implementing the "Product Information Provision Guidelines" at our domestic sites, establishing a system for providing accurate information. These guidelines not only cover the provision of materials but also aim to ensure that we always provide accurate and sufficient information by checking our response to social issues such as respect for human rights, health and safety, and environmental issues.

As an initiative in our upstream process, we are also developing guidelines for creating environmentally friendly products, scheduled to be launched in FY2026.

Quality Complaints from Customers

Integrated Report  Quality Assurance [PDF：11.9MB]