A newly established Japanese printed circuit board company, revitalization-fund-backed M.E.I, officially took over the home-appliance PCB manufacturing operations of the historic Osaka-based Matsumura Electronic Industry on December 1. The takeover marks a new phase for the century-old Matsumura, founded in February 1919, as it restructures under external guidance.

M.E.I is based in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, and was created in October 2024 with an investment of JPY 10 million (about USD 64,490 and CNY 455,900) from restructuring-focused Sazanka Partners. Under Japan's "Second Company System," the fund carved out Matsumura's profitable, sustainable business segment to ensure its long-term continuation.

Business Transfer and Operations

The new company now operates Matsumura's Tsuyama factory—a two-story steel structure of approximately 2,000 square meters—and continues supplying printed circuit boards to major Japanese home-appliance brands. Among its key customers is Zojirushi, for which it manufactures PCBs used in rice cookers and other kitchen appliances.

Following the formal transfer on December 1, M.E.I also inherited the business relationships that Matsumura previously maintained with appliance manufacturers.

Investment Plans and Capacity Expansion

To prepare for rising order volumes, M.E.I has already relocated part of its equipment from Matsumura's Osaka site and plans to invest around JPY 100 million (approximately USD 644,900 / CNY 4.559 million) next spring to add two PCB assembly machines. The expansion is expected to increase production capacity by about 20%.

The company aims to rebuild its workforce after significant downsizing. Only about 90 employees chose to remain—half of Matsumura's former headcount—but M.E.I plans to hire additional staff skilled in manual assembly processes, particularly large-component soldering. The goal is to restore the team to roughly 100 employees.

Due to consolidation of production sites, M.E.I's near-term revenue is projected to fall below Matsumura's sales for the fiscal year ending July 2025, which totaled JPY 1.165 billion.

Fund-Backed Turnaround Strategy

Sazanka Partners specializes in recapitalizing and restructuring small and mid-sized companies with strong recovery potential. Under the fund's recommendation, Matsumura transferred the Tsuyama facility—viewed as having stable, high-volume order prospects—to M.E.I as the core of its reorganization strategy.

M.E.I President Koichi Matsuda, who became president of Matsumura Electronic Industry in May last year, said the company will focus on high-volume production while strengthening its operating base. "We will continue expanding capacity and concentrate on mass-production items. With support from the director dispatched by Sazanka Partners, we aim to build a solid foundation for growth," he noted.