Business　Basics

【Left:Brown Liner, Right：Paper Tube Board】

A broad range of paper can be divided by "Paper" used for a newspaper, magazines or copy papers, and "Card board" used for corrugated board or packaging boxes. We mainly produce "Cardboard".

"Cardboard" for corrugated board are further divided into "Liner (top and back sheet)" and "Center core (corrugated board in a waved shape)", and each board has a different kinds of paper such as white liner, colored liner and water resistant or water repellent, so on.

Nikko Plant produces mainly "Brown liners".
We are exclusively producing "Liners" portion, and processing of carton are made by other group companies who manufacture corrugated board, such as Oji Chiyoda Container Co., Ltd.and Mori Shigyo Co., Ltd.etc. Carton boxes are utilized often for a packaging box for groceries, canned beverages and home appliance products.

Further, Nikko Plant produces "Cardboard" used for folding boxes for foods, medicines, and miscellaneous daily commodities, and "Paper tube board" used for a core tube of rapping products.
Also we are producing an unique special product named "Maikeruman" which provides additional functions or characteristics by applying a special coating on cardboard. For example, you may know yet, a variation of the products with increased water resistance is used for the packaging of the mackerel brand of "Seki-Saba" in Oita Prefecture.

Tochigi Prefecture and its Business Environment

【Left:Winder, Right:Dryer】

Oji Materia has currently a total of 11 plants all over in Japan. Among them, Nikko plant has a very good location in the biggest consuming area of the Kanto region, specifically including Tokyo.
At the Kanto region, in a donut shape around Tokyo, there are many "Corrugated cardboard manufacturers" who makes cardboard boxes. The shorter in distance is a very big advantage. A lower transportation cost and supplying system with a quick respond to orders may be realized.

For our distribution networks concerned, the access for the Tohoku Expressway is an advantage for the shipment to the southern part of this plant which dominates more than 80 % of the plant's shipment.
It is also very convenient to collect raw materials for "Recycled paper". A large volume of recycle paper produced in the Kanto region can be carried into our plant in timely manners. This plan is receiving benefits from the Tokyo metropolitan area of "Forest of recycle paper".

We are not using rail road networks frequently for the distributions of our products, but it is very convenient from the stand point of transportation of employees. With having a station of Shinkansen in Utsunomiya, one day round trips can be achieved to the head office in Ginza with merely taking only 2 hours for one way trip. It is also very convenient for our marketing people to make a periodical visit to customers.

Until almost 20 years ago, there was an exclusive cargo railway from Okamoto station to this plant. At that time the railway was used for the transportation of wood chips materials for pulp.
Currently the railway had been discontinued, because more than 90% of our raw materials comes from the recycle paper, it is not necessary to make pulp in this plant anymore. The site of the railway had been modified to "Friendship street", and　been used as a place for relaxation for the residents.

Made in Tochigi

【White Liner】

We appreciate a high quality of water, which indispensable for paper manufacturing, available in here. With the same reason, there are many Sake-breweries which require a good quality of water in this area, many breweries had been awarded for the first prize in competitions.

Our "Cardboard" are produced by the clear water of Kinugawa river to provide a stable quality to meet various customers needs.
Most our cardboards are versatile products, and been used at various applications in your daily lives, such as a packaging box for Tochigi made groceries, processed foods, beverages, and home appliances.

Tochigi made strawberry, a bland name of "Tochiotome", is packed into a box made of the white liner manufactured by Oji Matsumoto plant. 100% of the amulet sold in the Ise-shrine are made from our plant products, and a box for sweet stuff "Akamochi" sold for souvenir in there also made from our products.

Contributing Local Community

【From Nature School at Oji Forest】

Firstly, as a plant-wide activity, periodical cleaning activities of plant and surrounding areas are conducted,
By sponsoring for the NOP "Ground work of Nishi-Kinu" who conducting activities of conserving the beautiful nature, many employees has participated to their cleaning river activities.

Also, we are paying attentions to the improvements of living environment for people in the community. Especially social issues, such as noise and smell which may disturb daily lives, are carefully watched by taking a survey for the people designated as "Environment monitors" every month. The responses obtained through the survey are used as a reference for the environment actions in the plant. We believe, it is important not only to insist in saying that "we have increased and installed environmental friendly facilities" but also to hear how our neighbors are feeling and accepting our activities.　

In regard with communications with local communities, we are attending to the events sponsored by a total of 5 neighboring residents' associations. We are communicating for example by donating the sales of the Yakisoba shop in the events to them.
At the annual meeting with representatives of the neighboring residents' association, we report what our plant achieved in the past year with showing our company's performance result, and communicate by hearing their comments and requests. We believe, we can only continue our production activities by getting the understandings of neighboring residents in the community.

Also we accept plant tour requests from elementary and junior high schools. In addition, we are supporting Oji group environment program "Ojinomori Nature school". In this program, Oji Paper Co., Ltd. accepts an attendance of pupils from all over Japan, and attendants can experience the life with nature by staying over nights. "Kamisuki" (Paper making) experience in the program provides an opportunity to make a handcraft paper from pulp materials provided from us, and our plant tour helps to learn the importance of recycling of paper by seeing production process.
In the other hand, once a year, we visit and make our presentation for pupils at elementary schools, and to explain our company profiles and our work which is a kind of tough but rewarding work by contributing to society through the paper recycling, etc.

Among various our activities, we put our first priority on "Compliance" and "Environment Preservation".
If we encountered an environmental issue caused by our operations, we immediately stop the operation of machines and minimize the impact on the community. This is our way of living together with the people in this community.

Comments for the People in Tochigi

【Center:New Energy Boiler】

Today, "Environment friendly" products are required in various meanings, such as Eco-cars, Eco-home appliances. The people's environmental awareness are growing every days.
We utilize 99% of recycled paper as raw materials, only 0.6% of so called virgin pulp are used. We can say "Cardboard" is one of the top ranked products within a group of environmentally friendly products.
In the collection of used paper such as corrugated board, news paper, and magazines, a paper recycling system had been established and accepted socially and regionally for many years in comparing with other kind of products in Japan. From the stand point of economy also, we strongly request to recycle paper as a resource, not as a flammable waste.

Within the paper recycling, "Classification" takes time, but it is very important. If the paper is classified correctly, they can be recycled as a resource, but if mixed up incorrectly, they shall be buried or burned as only wastes. Your "Classification" of wasted materials are taking an important roll in the recycling process of paper.

Since two years ago, we had started the operation of "New Energy Boiler". This boiler can burn wasted wood tips, RFS (Pellets of non-recycle wastes of paper, plastics ) or disposed tires as fuels instead of heavy oils. This new approach takes away from the use of fossil oil and contribute for the reduction of CO2. By utilizing the wastes as a source of energy, we can contribute for prevention of global warming by reducing the use of fossil oil.

This plan has been producing "Cardboard" for about 100 years, since founded in 1916. We commit to continuously produce and supply environment friendly "Cardboard", as a "Non-Fossil energy applied, recycled paper recycling Plant" in the hub of the Kitakanto region, with featuring an excellent location for collecting raw materials and delivering products, under the supports from people in the community.