Accelerating Domestic Adoption of In-Mold Coating: Cross-Industry Consortium "IMCC" to be Established
Musashi Paint Holdings and Gifu Tada Seiki will establish the "In-Mold Coating Consortium (IMCC)" on May 1, 2026, aiming to accelerate the domestic adoption of in-mold coating, a technology gaining practical use in Europe and the US. This initiative seeks to transform in-mold coating from a specialized technique into a standard manufacturing process and establish it as an industry.
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- 📰 Published: May 1, 2026 at 21:30
- 🔍 Collected: May 1, 2026 at 13:01
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Musashi Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. (Head office: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Yumiko Fukui; hereinafter "Musashi Paint") and Gifu Tada Seiki Co., Ltd. (Head office: Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Norio Tada; hereinafter "Tada Seiki") have commenced preparations for the establishment of the "In-Mold Coating Consortium (IMCC)", a cross-industry consortium, with the aim of promoting the domestic adoption of in-mold coating technology, which is gaining practical use in Europe and the US. The establishment and commencement of activities are scheduled for May 1, 2026.
IMCC will be a platform for co-creation open to companies and organizations across the entire supply chain, including final product manufacturers in automotive, home appliances, and housing equipment, as well as equipment, mold, material, and paint manufacturers. It aims to socially implement in-mold coating as a new manufacturing process and establish it as an industry.
**Efforts of Both Companies**
Tada Seiki established a system for developing prototypes and mass-production molds compatible with in-mold coating by introducing the German KraussMaffei's ColorForm system in 2020. It has since provided a practical technological foundation to domestic and international customers.
Musashi Paint formed a global alliance with European companies in 2019, commencing full-scale expansion in the domestic market. In 2024, it established an independent development system for paints with weather resistance and heat resistance that meet the unique quality requirements of the Japanese market.
Furthermore, Musashi Paint has now become the first domestic paint manufacturer to introduce injection molding machines and injection equipment. This has created an environment capable of integrated operations from design to prototyping and evaluation, thereby strengthening the foundation for technological verification.
*As of March 2026, according to Musashi Paint research
**Role and Value Proposition of IMCC**
IMCC is a practical platform designed to transform in-mold coating technology from a "specialized technique" to a "standard method selected at the design stage." It will provide integrated technical verification and decision-making support, removing barriers to adoption.
Specifically, it will fulfill the following functions:
* **Provision of Verification Opportunities:** Enabling verification of mass-production applicability at a practical product level prior to capital investment.
* **Systematization and Standardization of Technology:** Integrating knowledge on paints, molds, and molding conditions to organize highly reproducible methods.
* **PoC and Data Creation:** Accumulating performance, quality, and process data through prototyping and verification at IMCC facilities.
* **Investment Decision Support:** Providing quantitative data such as ROI, costs, and CO2 reduction effects to support management decisions.
* **Pre-introduction Verification and Technology Experience Platform:** Promoting understanding and evaluation of the technology through product sample prototyping.
* **Market Education and Human Resource Development:** Providing educational opportunities for design, development, and production departments.
* **Creation of Mass-Production Projects and Market Formation:** Fostering mass-production projects through collaboration among members and promoting market expansion.
* **One-Stop Consultation Function:** Offering integrated solutions for technical challenges spanning multiple domains.
* **Building a Co-creation Ecosystem:** Promoting technological evolution and new value creation through inter-company collaboration.
IMCC will function not merely as a platform for technology sharing but as a "place to enable adoption decisions."
**Future Developments**
IMCC will widely solicit participation from partner companies in Japan and, based on the knowledge and data accumulated through consortium activities, aims to foster companies responsible for the mass-production application of in-mold coating.
Additionally, by providing an environment where product samples can be prototyped even before equipment introduction, it will enable companies to not just "understand" but also "experience and verify" the technology. This will support improving the accuracy of adoption decisions and speeding up decision-making.
Through these initiatives, IMCC will establish the technological foundation for in-mold coating in Japan, accelerate its widespread adoption, and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption in manufacturing processes.
In the future, based on the model established in Japan, the consortium plans to expand into the Asian market, promoting global technological dissemination.
Four facilities available for demonstration experiments.
**Contact Information**
IMCC Secretariat (within Musashi Paint & Tada Seiki)
E-mail: info@imc-consortium.jp
http://imc-consortium.jp/
*For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact the IMCC Secretariat above.
IMCC will be a platform for co-creation open to companies and organizations across the entire supply chain, including final product manufacturers in automotive, home appliances, and housing equipment, as well as equipment, mold, material, and paint manufacturers. It aims to socially implement in-mold coating as a new manufacturing process and establish it as an industry.
**Efforts of Both Companies**
Tada Seiki established a system for developing prototypes and mass-production molds compatible with in-mold coating by introducing the German KraussMaffei's ColorForm system in 2020. It has since provided a practical technological foundation to domestic and international customers.
Musashi Paint formed a global alliance with European companies in 2019, commencing full-scale expansion in the domestic market. In 2024, it established an independent development system for paints with weather resistance and heat resistance that meet the unique quality requirements of the Japanese market.
Furthermore, Musashi Paint has now become the first domestic paint manufacturer to introduce injection molding machines and injection equipment. This has created an environment capable of integrated operations from design to prototyping and evaluation, thereby strengthening the foundation for technological verification.
*As of March 2026, according to Musashi Paint research
**Role and Value Proposition of IMCC**
IMCC is a practical platform designed to transform in-mold coating technology from a "specialized technique" to a "standard method selected at the design stage." It will provide integrated technical verification and decision-making support, removing barriers to adoption.
Specifically, it will fulfill the following functions:
* **Provision of Verification Opportunities:** Enabling verification of mass-production applicability at a practical product level prior to capital investment.
* **Systematization and Standardization of Technology:** Integrating knowledge on paints, molds, and molding conditions to organize highly reproducible methods.
* **PoC and Data Creation:** Accumulating performance, quality, and process data through prototyping and verification at IMCC facilities.
* **Investment Decision Support:** Providing quantitative data such as ROI, costs, and CO2 reduction effects to support management decisions.
* **Pre-introduction Verification and Technology Experience Platform:** Promoting understanding and evaluation of the technology through product sample prototyping.
* **Market Education and Human Resource Development:** Providing educational opportunities for design, development, and production departments.
* **Creation of Mass-Production Projects and Market Formation:** Fostering mass-production projects through collaboration among members and promoting market expansion.
* **One-Stop Consultation Function:** Offering integrated solutions for technical challenges spanning multiple domains.
* **Building a Co-creation Ecosystem:** Promoting technological evolution and new value creation through inter-company collaboration.
IMCC will function not merely as a platform for technology sharing but as a "place to enable adoption decisions."
**Future Developments**
IMCC will widely solicit participation from partner companies in Japan and, based on the knowledge and data accumulated through consortium activities, aims to foster companies responsible for the mass-production application of in-mold coating.
Additionally, by providing an environment where product samples can be prototyped even before equipment introduction, it will enable companies to not just "understand" but also "experience and verify" the technology. This will support improving the accuracy of adoption decisions and speeding up decision-making.
Through these initiatives, IMCC will establish the technological foundation for in-mold coating in Japan, accelerate its widespread adoption, and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption in manufacturing processes.
In the future, based on the model established in Japan, the consortium plans to expand into the Asian market, promoting global technological dissemination.
Four facilities available for demonstration experiments.
**Contact Information**
IMCC Secretariat (within Musashi Paint & Tada Seiki)
E-mail: info@imc-consortium.jp
http://imc-consortium.jp/
*For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact the IMCC Secretariat above.