Sec Carbon, Limited (5304.T) manufactures and sells carbon and graphite products primarily for steelmaking, aluminum smelting, and industrial applications. The company produces graphite electrodes used in electric arc furnaces for steelmaking; SK-B graphitized cathode blocks for aluminum smelting, holding the top global market share in this category; carbon and graphite specialties and materials serving the semiconductor, aerospace, chemical, electrochemistry, machine, and metallurgy industries; and fine powders applied in automobile paint, sliding materials, metallurgic uses, and batteries. It also engages in research and development related to molten salt electrolysis and purchases and sells carbon products.
Founded on October 23, 1934, as Showa Electrode Co., Ltd. and formerly known as SEC Corporation until renaming to Sec Carbon, Limited in October 2006, the company is headquartered at JRE Amagasaki Front Building in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan, with plants in Kyoto and Okayama, an office in Tokyo, and a sales office in Nagoya.
Sec Carbon supplies its products to approximately 40 countries worldwide, focusing on industries such as steel, aluminum, and advanced materials.
In recent developments, the company completed construction of a dedicated SK-B production plant within its Kyoto Plant in November 2011, enhancing capacity by 150% and establishing one of the world's largest graphite manufacturing hubs for cathode blocks; it maintains ongoing commitments to product quality improvements, research and development, personnel training, and internal controls as part of its sustainability efforts outlined in the 9th Medium-Term Business Plan.