Deep Intelligence Across Industries

DAIHEN is an Osaka-based electrical-equipment maker with a 107-year history. It combines three businesses that rarely sit under one roof. The first is power-grid hardware: Japan's leading franchise in pole-mounted distribution transformers, plus large substation transformers, switchgear, grid-scale battery-storage packages and EV chargers. The second is factory automation: OTC-brand arc-welding robots and clean wafer-transfer robots for semiconductor tools. The third is materials processing, built on a welding-machine heritage that dates to 1934 and, more importantly today, on RF plasma power-generation systems for advanced etch and deposition tools. In FY2026 the semiconductor link was visible in its customer list. Tokyo Electron Miyagi, the plasma-etch arm of Tokyo Electron, bought ¥38.3 billion, or 16.1% of group sales, making it the largest customer. Kansai Electric Power was second at 9.9%. Revenue reached a record ¥237.7 billion in FY2026, orders rose 12.6% to ¥271.3 billion, and the order backlog grew 30.7% to ¥142.9 billion. Management guides to another record year in FY2027, helped by AI-driven semiconductor investment, Japanese grid reinforcement and battery-storage roll-out. --- ### What the company does DAIHEN designs, manufactures, sells and services electrical and electronic capital equipment. Its annual securities report summarises the group's activity as the manufacture, sale and repair of transformers, welding machines, industrial robots, power supplies for plasma generation and clean-transfer robots. In its integrated reporting the company describes its purpose as contributing to society by developing unique products ("ならでは製品") that solve social issues. Since 2012 its management approach has been the "simultaneous achievement of happiness" for all stakeholders. Since the fiscal year ended March 2023 the group has reported three segments plus "Other": **Energy Management (EM):** power infrastructure and renewables. This covers distribution and power transformers, power receiving and transforming equipment, switches, control and communication equipment, distributed-power equipment (power conditioners, battery-storage systems) and EV-charging equipment. EM produced 53.9% of FY2026 sales. **Factory Automation (FA):** industrial robots (mainly arc-welding robots), clean-transfer robots (wafer and FPD handling) and transfer systems. FA produced 13.8% of FY2026 sales. **Material Processing (MP):** arc-welding machines, plasma cutting machines, and power supplies for plasma generation (RF and microwave generators with matching units), used mainly in advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. MP produced 32.1% of FY2026 sales. **Other:** real-estate leasing, and re-employment of senior employees through DAIHEN Business Service. Less than 0.1% of sales. ### Business and revenue model DAIHEN mainly sells products, with a meaningful service tail. **Product sales dominate:** Transformers, switchgear, robots, welders and RF generators are sold as discrete hardware. Power-utility equipment is often built to order from annual or multi-year utility procurement plans. Semiconductor RF systems are designed into OEM tool platforms and shipped against OEM build schedules. **Systems and engineering revenue is growing:** Grid-scale battery-storage packages, which integrate in-house PCS, transformers, interconnection equipment and EMS with purchased lithium-ion cells, are sold as turnkey projects. The robot system integrators acquired in 2024 (Rolan Robotics in the Netherlands and Force Design in the US) sell engineered robot cells. **Service and maintenance revenue:** comes from installation, repair, inspection and remodelling of transformers and switchgear, carried out through group service companies. Welding consumables and spare parts add further recurring revenue. **Licensing and subscription revenue:** is not material. DAIHEN does not publish a split of revenue between products and services. ### Value-chain position **Power infrastructure:** a Tier-1 equipment supplier to Japanese regional utilities (Kansai Electric, Tohoku Electric, Chugoku Electric and Kyushu Electric through regional subsidiaries), to industrial and commercial power users, and to independent battery-storage developers. **Semiconductor fab ecosystem:** a Tier-1 subsystem supplier to wafer-fab equipment OEMs. DAIHEN does not sell fab tools to chipmakers. It sells the RF plasma power chain (generator, matcher, plasma source) and the wafer-handling robots, aligners and EFEM modules that go inside etch, deposition and other process tools. **Manufacturing automation:** an OEM of welding power sources and welding robots. It sells through a large distributor network; DAIHEN's European welding subsidiary Lorch cited more than 1,100 dealer companies across nine countries. It also sells directly and through its own system integrators to automotive, construction-machinery, steel-structure and general fabrication customers. ### Customer types and end-markets | End-market | Main products | Representative customers / channels | |---|---|---| | Electric power utilities | Pole-mounted and large transformers, switchgear, distribution automation | Kansai Electric Power (9.9% of FY2026 sales), regional utilities served by subsidiaries | | Grid-scale and behind-the-meter storage | Battery-storage packages, PCS, transformers, EMS | Battery-storage developers, e.g. Sun Village (2.4 GWh development programme) | | Industrial and commercial buildings, data centres, semiconductor fabs | Power receiving and transforming equipment, mold transformers | EPC contractors, factory owners | | EV infrastructure | Quick chargers (up to 180 kW), normal chargers, wireless charging | Charging operators, fleets | | Semiconductor equipment | RF/MW generators, matching units, plasma sources, clean-transfer robots | Tokyo Electron Miyagi (16.1% of FY2026 sales) and other WFE OEMs | | Automotive and general manufacturing | Arc-welding robots, welding machines, cutting machines, robot cells | Automotive OEMs and Tier-1s, distributors | **Electric power utilities:** Main products: Pole-mounted and large transformers, switchgear, distribution automation; Representative customers / channels: Kansai Electric Power (9.9% of FY2026 sales), regional utilities served by subsidiaries **Grid-scale and behind-the-meter storage:** Main products: Battery-storage packages, PCS, transformers, EMS; Representative customers / channels: Battery-storage developers, e.g. Sun Village (2.4 GWh development programme) - **Industrial and commercial buildings, data centres, semiconductor fabs** — Main products: Power receiving and transforming equipment, mold transformers; Representative customers / channels: EPC contractors, factory owners **EV infrastructure:** Main products: Quick chargers (up to 180 kW), normal chargers, wireless charging; Representative customers / channels: Charging operators, fleets **Semiconductor equipment:** Main products: RF/MW generators, matching units, plasma sources, clean-transfer robots; Representative customers / channels: Tokyo Electron Miyagi (16.1% of FY2026 sales) and other WFE OEMs **Automotive and general manufacturing:** Main products: Arc-welding robots, welding machines, cutting machines, robot cells; Representative customers / channels: Automotive OEMs and Tier-1s, distributors ### Independent characterisation DAIHEN is best understood as a Japan-centric "grid plus semiconductor subsystem" company with a cyclical welding and robotics business attached. About 79% of revenue is domestic, and the two largest customers together account for 26% of sales. That gives DAIHEN unusual exposure to the capex cycles of one semiconductor OEM and one utility. The company's distinctive feature is that both of its growth engines, grid reinforcement and storage on one side and AI-related semiconductor capex on the other, depend on high-power electronics and power-conversion know-how that the group has built for a century. The weakest link is robotics. There, DAIHEN is a mid-sized player against much larger Japanese and European rivals, and FY2026 segment margins fell to about 6%.