For the first half of FY2017 (Apr. to Sept.), TDK Corporation registered an increase of 28.6 percent on the year in sales of components for industrial equipment. The sales ratio of components for industrial equipment to consolidated sales increased from 15.8 percent from last year to 18.8 percent. Higher investments poured in semiconductors and automation, and the expansion of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and robotics-related applications boosted sales of aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, and inductive devices, as well as circuit protection components, piezoelectric materials components, power supplies, and magnets. TDK expects that the strong demand for components for industrial equipment will continue.

At ROHM Co., Ltd., sales of components for industrial equipment accounted for 12 percent of its sales of ¥200.4 billion in the first half of FY2017, increasing 0.3 percentage point from the same period of the previous year. The company saw increased sales of power supply ICs, motor driver ICs, small signal transistors, and silicon carbide (SiC) devices for photovoltaic power generation systems and for factory automation (FA), measuring instruments, home energy management systems (HEMS), and business energy management systems (BEMS). The company intends to increase the sales ratio of components for industrial equipment by an annual 1.2 percent, along with those for automobiles.

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Limited (JAE) posted sales of ¥15.4 billion, an increase of 25 percent on the year, for components for the industrial equipment and infrastructure market in the first half of FY2017. On the back of the favorable FA market in Japan, sales of connectors for industrial equipment, operation panels for machine tools, and linear motors for semiconductor exposure apparatuses were brisk. For the whole FY2017, the company expects sales of ¥30.4 billion, an increase of 19 percent on the year.