Gifu Kogyo is the top manufacturer of sliding formwork for concrete lining work in tunnel construction with 70% of the domestic market share. With the various technologies it has developed, the company has reduced costs and ensured safety in tunnel construction work. The past record of the company is outstanding, including major tunnel projects in Japan such as Seikan Tunnel, the Tokyo Bay Aqua-line and many tunnels along expressways.

The key to Gifu Kogyo's success in maintaining its number one position in the market is its capacity of technological development based on its strict on-site principles. Holding more than 150 patents and utility model rights, the company is very positive about efficiently using its intellectual property rights. It stimulates the employees' motivation for technical development in many ways, for example, by holding suggestion contests across the company, and entering a variety of award contests. It is this management strategy that has led to the company's success today.

A result of such efforts is Gifu Coat, one of the company's proprietary technologies. By spraying a ceramic coating on the surface of a metal form and adding a separating agent to it, the company has succeeded in the easyrelease of formwork from lined concrete and also creating a white surface on tunnel walls, so that they diffusely reflect the lights of passing vehicles and do not harm drivers' eyes. The white, bright-walled tunnels we can find more and more today are all the achievement of this company's technology. By constantly feeding back the needs and problems in the field and through developing solutions, Gifu Kogyo has greatly contributed to driver safety.

The construction industry faces many challenges today such as costs, safety, and the environment. This situation, however, works rather favorably for Gifu Kogyo to highlight its competitiveness. For example, the "Recyclable Formwork" it manufactures in a proprietary production system, realize short delivery times and low costs, both meeting the tough demands of the market. The system allows the low-cost, environment-friendly use of concrete formwork by managing the company's numerous product lines on computers and then quickly sorts the necessary parts according to required drawings.

Gifu Kogyo's formwork are widely used overseas, too. The company has won many orders for projects in rapidly developing areas, including the Taiwan High Speed Rail project to be opened in 2005 and the highway and subway projects in Hong Kong. This was because the clients appreciated the company's World-leading technological edge, proven for example, by the fact that the tunnels it had received orders for, including those for the Shinkansen, did not collapse during the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.

Gifu Kogyo holds on to its dreams, even in adversity, and then makes them a reality. Taking on challenges, to open up a brighter future.