New Company 'Exmu' Born from Internal Competition Takes on Niche DX

Sapporo-based air conditioning equipment manufacturer Yabushita Holdings Co., Ltd. has established Exmu Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido; Representative Director: Genki Nakano).

In recent years, many companies have shown increasing interest in DX and AI utilization, but on the actual workplace front, there are many issues such as 'not knowing where to start,' 'cannot fully utilize large systems even if introduced,' and 'minor daily inconveniences are left unaddressed.'

Exmu is a company that promotes 'Niche DX,' which discovers niche problems lurking in daily operations and workplace tasks, and turns them into easy-to-use apps.

'I want to simplify more,'

'Quotation creation is too dependent on specific individuals,'

'I want to create a workflow that anyone can follow without hesitation.'

Solving these small inconveniences in operations is the first step toward 'DX that takes root in the workplace.' By promoting Niche DX, Exmu will improve operational efficiency and create new value.

Employee Challenge Gives Birth to New Company: Yabushita Group's Monozukuri Competition

The trigger for Exmu's birth is the 'Monozukuri Presentation Competition,' an internal competition format held annually by the Yabushita Group. This initiative is a training system aimed at creating new value from scratch.

Participants form teams, plan new products or services, and examine prototypes, costs, profitability, and marketability. Through document screening, presentation screening, and final judging, products that are actually commercialized have a system where part of the revenue is returned to the team.

Rather than just presenting ideas, it is positioned as a system for learning the essence of manufacturing, profit-generating product creation, and market needs confirmation by operating the team as a 'small company.' The predecessor team of Exmu challenged 'intangible manufacturing' by developing apps using AI and digital technologies, instead of conventional 'tangible products.'

The attitude of finding problems, developing apps, and considering monetization possibilities was evaluated, and through final judging, the employee's idea became not just an app but an entire company.

Scene from Yabushita Holdings' 'Monozukuri Presentation Competition'

Beyond Technology: The Wall of DX in Manufacturing, Starting with Workplace Understanding

Exmu aims for 'niche DX' that reaches the itchy spots of the workplace, not large-scale DX. The reason DX does not progress in many companies is the distance between the workplace and the development side. Systems developed without fully understanding workplace issues and workflows are difficult to sustain and do not take root.

What is truly needed is not the introduction of large-scale DX, but practical apps that solve small workplace inconveniences and can be used continuously.

Exmu will not limit itself to manufacturing, but will find 'tasks that should be appified' in all daily scenes such as sales, clerical work, management, medical equipment, exhibitions, maintenance, education, and internal operations, and promote Niche DX by serviceizing from a workplace perspective.

First Release: App Supporting Quotation and Material Loss Visualization for Sheet Metal Processing

The first developed app is 'ITADORI,' a simple quotation and layout confirmation app usable at the sales sites of sheet metal and laser processing companies. Nesting is the work of arranging multiple parts on a single sheet of material as efficiently as possible.

If the layout is inefficient, material waste and gaps occur, leading to material loss and cost increases. Conventionally, such layout confirmation and material cost calculation often required specialized software and knowledge, making it difficult for sales representatives to immediately explain in negotiations how many parts can be taken from which sheet, approximate material costs, and how much material loss occurs.

ITADORI allows users to set material sizes, prices, and part shapes to confirm the layout image on the sheet, material utilization rate, and approximate cost, and output the result as a report.

It is not intended to replace full-fledged processing software, but aims to be a sales support tool that assists explanations during negotiations and initial quotations, designed for easy workplace introduction. ITADORI focuses on 'small problems' in the workplace that large-scale manufacturing DX cannot capture, and solves them through an app, marking Exmu's workplace-originated 'Niche DX' first release.

Comment from Genki Nakano, Representative Director of Exmu Co., Ltd.

I have been involved in tangible manufacturing such as medical equipment, outdoor gear, and metal processing. In the workplace, there are many 'tasks that only some people can do' and 'work that should be much simpler.' When people hear DX and AI, they often imagine large-scale systems and advanced technology, but what we want to emphasize is closer to the workplace.

We believe Exmu's role is to find small inconveniences in daily work and turn them into easy-to-use apps for everyone.

In the future, we will develop services not only for sheet metal and manufacturing apps, but also virtual exhibition hall apps where products can be viewed three-dimensionally on the web, failure response support apps that guide solutions when inputting medical equipment failure status, and internal work efficiency apps, responding to workplace needs inside and outside the group.

Exmu will continue to challenge 'Niche DX' that solves small workplace problems, not large-scale DX.

Available Content for Interviews and Photography

- Background of how the new company was born from an internal competition
- Interviews with the representative and development team
- Demonstration of the laser nesting app 'ITADORI'
- Image of practical use at sheet metal and laser processing sales sites
- Yabushita Group's internal entrepreneurship and human resource development initiatives
- Behind-the-scenes of workplace-originated app development
- The concept of 'Niche DX' solving small workplace inconveniences
- Future development of Exmu, the group's 18th company

About Exmu, the 18th Company of Yabushita Group

Company Name: Exmu Co., Ltd.

Established: May 2026

Representative Director: Genki Nakano

Location: 1-12, Kita 6-jo Nishi 23-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo

Business: App development, web coding, digital data sales, etc.

https://xmu.monster/

About Yabushita Group

Celebrating its 60th anniversary since founding, Yabushita holds top market share in HVAC and refrigeration components, and designs, manufactures, and sells solar panel mounts and lighting components. Leveraging over 20 years of facility construction experience and the latest design and analysis technologies, it continues to contribute to customer profits.

With Yabushita at the center, the group of 19 companies (as of May 20, 2026) collaborates to pursue safety and technological innovation, providing products utilizing cutting-edge technology. Its mission is to protect the safety and health of all people.

Press Contact and Inquiries:

Public Relations: Yamada (080-1165-8563)

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