Nippon Kinzoku Introduces New Stainless Steel 'Exterior Surface Finished Material' with Diverse Metallic Aesthetics from Mirror to Jet Black

Nippon Kinzoku Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & Director: Yasushi Shikawa; Securities Code: 5491) proposes its cold-rolled stainless steel strip 'Exterior Surface Finished Material,' developed for automotive exterior moldings and electronic device enclosures, to customers seeking to streamline polishing, painting, and surface treatment processes and reduce environmental impact.

Figure: Design Concept

Product Features and Benefits of Adoption

Nippon Kinzoku's 'Exterior Surface Finished Material' stainless steel strip offers a wide range of variations and is adopted for applications such as automotive exterior moldings and enclosures (cases) for smartphones and mobile PCs.

The company's strength lies in continuous processing via the 'coil-to-coil method,' leveraging long-standing rolling technology. This enables the simultaneous achievement of unique design aesthetics and stable quality, along with high productivity.

Moreover, since this product imparts design characteristics directly into the material itself, its adoption delivers the following benefits:

Process Simplification: Eliminates the need for customer-side polishing, painting, and surface treatments (such as anodizing), improving yield.

Reduction of Environmental Impact: Suppresses CO₂ emissions by reducing manufacturing processes. As an environmentally conscious product under the company's 'Eco Product' line, it contributes to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Furthermore, this product line embodies 'Near Net Performance'—one of the keywords of the company's 11th Medium-Term Management Plan 'NIPPON KINZOKU 2030'—which means realizing the performance required for the final product at the material stage.

Design Variations (List of Surface Finishes)

Selection is possible from the following lineup according to application and design concept:

Finish Name

Overview

BA5 (Bright Annealing)

・ A finish with enhanced gloss compared to standard BA (bright annealing after cold rolling), achieved through the company's proprietary technology. This is the company's standard BA finish material.

nanoBA (Surface Roughness nano BA)

・ A surface finish with mirror-like gloss. Achieves high gloss at mirror level through cold working alone, allowing omission or reduction of post-processing polishing steps. ・ Named for controlling surface roughness at the nanometer level.

PW (Pearly White)

・ Pursues higher 'whiteness' and achieves a calm, satin-like (matte) texture. ・ Offers a lineup from PW3 to PW10 based on differences in surface roughness.

PF (Pearly Finish)

・ Forms micro-irregularities on the material surface to achieve a non-glossy surface texture. Resistant to visible scratches and fingerprints. ・ Offers a lineup from PF10 to PF99 based on differences in surface roughness.

FB (Fine Black®)※

・ Forms an extremely thin, transparent oxide film on the stainless steel surface, achieving a metallic feel and deep black color through light interference and absorption phenomena. ・ The surface undergoes special hard coating treatment, offering excellent corrosion and wear resistance.

M-FB (Mat Finish FB)

・ Developed to meet market demand for 'matte' finishes, this 'mat (non-glossy)' FB finish adds a calm texture to FB.

※The Fine Black® finish is a product co-developed with Toyo Rikagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Yoneyama-mura, Nishikanbara-gun, Niigata Prefecture; President & CEO: Daisei Miyazaki). It combines the company's high-quality materials, developed for automotive moldings, with Toyo Rikagaku Kenkyusho's proprietary coloring technology. To enhance brand value as a differentiated product, it has been trademarked.

In addition, standard stainless steel finishes such as 2D (atmospheric annealing and pickling) and 2B (further skin-passed after 2D) are also available. For certain finishes, customization by combining multiple finishes is possible, enabling the creation of even more unique textures.

(Note: Depending on the stainless steel grade, thickness, width, and temper, some of the above surface finishes may not be available. Please contact us for details.)

【Stainless Steel Strip Product Overview】

The company's uniquely designed equipment, built upon accumulated cold-rolling expertise, and the industry-leading proprietary technologies derived from it meet diverse customer needs.

Company Website (Steel Strip Products):

https://www.nipponkinzoku.co.jp/corporate/business/stainless-steel

● About the 11th Medium-Term Management Plan 'NIPPON KINZOKU 2030'

The company aims to be a 'Multi & Hybrid Material Enterprise that co-creates new value friendly to people and the Earth.' Through proprietary rolling and composite forming technologies, it realizes the performance required for final products at the material stage and contributes broadly to society.

To achieve this vision, the company advances product development centered on the following three keywords:

'Multi & Hybrid Material': Utilization of diverse materials

'Near Net Shape': Forming processes close to the final product shape

'Near Net Performance': Realization of product performance at the material level

Through these proprietary technologies, the company is transforming its business structure around new technologies and products, flexibly responding to diversified market needs.

Company Website (Management Plan):

https://www.nipponkinzoku.co.jp/investor-relations/strategies

Inquiries Regarding This Release

Nippon Kinzoku Co., Ltd. Legal & Public Relations Department

TEL: 03-5765-8104

https://www.nipponkinzoku.co.jp/contact-other

Inquiries Regarding This Product and Technical Information

Nippon Kinzoku Co., Ltd. Production Process & Support Department

TEL: 03-5765-8113

https://www.nipponkinzoku.co.jp/contact