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NIHON GENRYO Our specialty
Pass our “beautiful water planet” on to the next generation,
NIHON GENRYO is contributing to society through “water”
Do you know NIHON GENRYO?
In fact, we are supporting Japan’s water infrastructure,
and are close at hand.
We are not a household name but our products and technologies are used to produce the tap water you use every day.
Japanese tap water originates from source water taken from rivers and dams. At water purification plants it goes through various processes, having impurities removed in a filter bed and chlorine added as a disinfectant. Then, finally, it is delivered to your homes.
Our primary business is the production and sales of the sand and gravel filters installed in those filter beds.
Since around 80% of domestic water purification plants are using our filters, the tap water that you normally use was probably filtered through one of our filters.
We are that close at hand.
Close at hand “filtration” and indispensable “filter materials”
Filtration — a step which cannot be omitted during the production of tap water — is a general process by which a filter is used to remove solids from liquids and gases.
Filter materials are essential for the production of Japan’s tap water. NIHON GENRYO
specializes in granular filters containing grains of sand or gravel,
and has developed businesses such as filter production and filter recycling.
We will now explain four points about filters, such as why we specialize in granular filters, the benefits of granular filters, and our technologies.
Sand is a unique filter that can be used over and over again
We also use filtration in our everyday lives.
Paper or cloth can also be used as filters for things like coffee filters and soup stock packs, but many filters gradually become dirty and have to be replaced.
Sand, however, has a unique characteristic. While it functions as a large filter mass when filtering, it separates into individual grains when being cleaned, allowing any impurities in the spaces between the grains to be expelled.
Technology to sift out the best sand to meet strict standards
The quality of Japanese tap water is high enough for it to be used as drinking water.
But we can’t just use any kind of sand as a filter for that water. Characteristics such as the grain size and quality, and shape must meet strict standards fixed by the Japan Water Works Association (JWWA).
It’s important to have technologies that can screen natural raw materials to sort out the part that meets the standards required for use as a filter — and NIHON GENRYO has been developing technologies and knowhow to do just that ever since we were founded.
“Filter sand cleaning” — our suggestion to secure our planet’s future
Despite its unique property of being washable and reusable, even sand gets dirty after continued use as a filter. In the old days, dirty filters were thrown in the trash. Some might think that it is OK to throw sand or gravel away after using it — after all there is plenty of it on beaches and in rivers. However, the sand and gravel used in filters is a precious mineral resource in limited supply on earth. Believing that we have an obligation to “not use it all up ourselves, but keep some for future generations,” NIHON GENRYO started suggesting to the waterworks bodies in the early 1960’s that dirty filter materials should be thoroughly cleaned and re-used. Now known as “rehabilitation work,” this concept has been introduced in water purification plants all over Japan as a general method to manage filter bed maintenance.
The birth of “SIPHON cleaning” technology — a revolution in the water treatment industry
As Japan has prospered, the quality of its ground water has deteriorated.
This has had an adverse effect on the filter materials used to filter that water, with traditional treatment processes generating persistent dirt that could not be removed. As filter materials are used to produce tap water that will be drunk by people, it is impossible to use chemicals or detergents to clean them. A powerful cleaning method is necessary if you are going to use only water and physical strength to remove strongly adhering coagulated dirt from the sand. At NIHON GENRYO, we used trial and error to develop a new restorative technology from scratch. This “SIPHON Cleaning Technology” fully cleans the sand to the same level as virgin material without damaging the grains.
NIHON GENRYO and SDGs
Long before MDGs and SDGs were adopted,
NIHON GENRYO built businesses in filter production and recycling work,
and developed water treatment equipment whose filters do not need to be replaced,
with the aim of “delivering life-sustaining water not just now but also for future generations.”
NIHON GENRYO filtration is building the future
It’s not just at water treatment plants that filtration is carried out. Our technology is also used at places closer to home.
Our filters are used as circulation system filters at places such as swimming pools and bathing facilities, amusement parks, aquariums, and zoos.
And the biggest user of filters in Japan are production sites covering all kinds of industries.
Many people across the world are finding our technology essential to secure the earth’s future and its water.
Innovation taking shape
Birth of the “SIPHON TANK”
Our filter materials are used also at privately owned factories which are advocating “zero emission,” “ISO 14001,” or “SDGs.” As many are undertaking initiatives on waste reduction and sustainable development targets they are worried about disposing of dirty filters.
Aware of such concerns, we as the manufacturer have moved into new territory. By combining our knowledge about filters built up over many years and cleaning technology developed during recycling work, we could successfully launch our “SIPHON TANK” water treatment devices for which the filters do not need replacing. Overturning the conventional thinking — that filters are replaceable items — this was a revolutionary development.
Wanting to solve difficulties that lie before us and taking on new challenges is one part of the NIHON GENRYO“monotsukuri mindset.”
One more mission
Making “emergency water supply support” possible everywhere
Nobody knows when a natural disaster is going to happen. Even when the water supply is cut, NIHON GENRYO supplies water with our “Mobile SIPHON TANK” portable water treatment devices to keep people safe and secure. Working in tandem with waterworks companies, we help provide an emergency water supply at times of crisis such as during disasters.
With natural disasters like typhoons, floods, and earthquakes growing more severe, there have recently been more and more cases where the waterworks infrastructure has been hit. If water purification equipment is affected the water supply is cut, putting even more stress on the victims of the disaster. During previous emergencies, local and national authorities have asked us to bring the “Mobile SIPHON TANK” into the disaster area and it has taken us just a few days to supply water equal in quality to tap water. Incorporating high functional filters that can deal with fluctuations in water quality and a self cleaning function, the Mobile SIPHON TANK supplies the water that is vitally needed by the affected people.
“Applying lessons learnt in the field...”
This thinking is the basis of our
“monotsukuri mindset”.
What we realize when supporting disaster recovery in the field is the difficulty in responding to a constantly changing situation.
As nature changes day by day, yesterday’s solutions won’t always work today.
We make sure our experiences from working in disaster zones is reflected when NIHON GENRYO
products are upgraded or remodeled.
Mobile SIPHON TANK has been remodeled six times since its initial development,
and we are also developing disaster resistant products and disaster-proof water treatment equipment.
We apply the lessons we learn in the field not just from disaster recovery zones, but all sites where water treatment is necessary.
This thinking is the basis of our “monotsukuri mindset.”
Eradicating disparities in global water quality...
NIHON GENRYO has established the “WATER PLANet PROJECT” to provide secure and safe water supplies to everyone on earth and eradicate disparities in water quality. Disaster recovery support extends far beyond Japan. In the outside world, many people still do not have access to safe water supplies. We are using our technical abilities as a manufacturer to tackle this issue.
In Japan we can drink hygienic and safe water simply by turning a tap but two billion people in the world don’t have that option. Many regions are not blessed with sufficient rainfall or water resources. With no water facilities in place the volume and quality of available water fluctuates. Some children have to miss school to walk long distances every day to scoop up water from rivers and pools and there are others who have never seen a glass of clear water.
To overcome this type of situation, NIHON GENRYO has widely shared its knowhow and technology overseas and we are helping to achieve sustainable development goals. Striving to address water and natural resource issues on a global scale, we want to create a bright future in which everyone can enjoy the delights of clean water.
”Water quality disparities” also affect Japan.
NIHON GENRYO advocates
“a remodeled waterworks,” focused on Japan’s future.
Japan’s waterworks facilities, installed during the post-war boom, have rapidly deteriorated in recent years. If the delivery of safe and secure water across Japan is to continue then waterworks facilities must be upgraded. However, while maintenance activities such as piping replacement require huge funding, the income received by regional waterworks companies is dropping as the local communities continue to depopulate. Even in urban areas waterworks facilities are at risk of damage caused by abnormal weather, typhoons, and earthquakes. Each local authority has its own policies for water supply.
With our own-developed filter materials and water treatment equipment, NIHON GENRYO is advocating a “remodeled waterworks” in the form of a flexible, stand-alone and decentralized waterworks system.
Watching the future intently
While boasting more than 80 years experience, NIHON GENRYO also has an entrepreneurial side.
This stems from our attitude, as a manufacturer, of treasuring our employee’s ideas.
NIHON GENRYO endorses a disruptive approach — applying unconventional ideas into existing concepts.
In reality, we turned filtration materials from traditionally being considered as replaceable items into something that can be used almost permanently.
We also put this to good use in our own systems.
By reviewing and proposing improvements to the daily work and a project system open to participation by everyone regardless of their status in the company,
we are constantly refreshing the way we operate.
That’s because the development of astounding technologies is precisely what a manufacturer should be doing.
Although we are more than 80 years old, we also have an entrepreneurial side.
NIHON GENRYO is continuing to focus on granular filter technology and create new technology.
We will continue our efforts in future on behalf of everyone on earth.
As it passes through layers of sand and earth, impurities are removed from the rainfall that has entered the ground.
Minerals from the ground are eventually incorporated, forming so-called mineral water (clean spring water) and it reappears at the surface.
This natural gift is precisely the mechanism of sand filtration.
We,NIHON GENRYO, focused on specialized technology for the purification of water with granular filtration materials,
will continue to disrupt traditionally accepted practices with technological innovation, so that our children can continue to enjoy the benefits of safe water.
Watching the future intently
While boasting more than 80 years experience, NIHON GENRYO also has an entrepreneurial side.
This stems from our attitude, as a manufacturer, of treasuring our employee’s ideas.
NIHON GENRYO endorses a disruptive approach — applying unconventional ideas into existing concepts.
In reality, we turned filtration materials from traditionally being considered as replaceable items into something that can be used almost permanently.
We also put this to good use in our own systems.
By reviewing and proposing improvements to the daily work and a project system open to participation by everyone regardless of their status in the company,
we are constantly refreshing the way we operate.
That’s because the development of astounding technologies is precisely what a manufacturer should be doing.
Although we are more than 80 years old, we also have an entrepreneurial side.
NIHON GENRYO is continuing to focus on granular filter technology and create new technology.
We will continue our efforts in future on behalf of everyone on earth.
As it passes through layers of sand and earth, impurities are removed from the rainfall that has entered the ground.
Minerals from the ground are eventually incorporated, forming so-called mineral water (clean spring water) and it reappears at the surface.
This natural gift is precisely the mechanism of sand filtration.
We,NIHON GENRYO, focused on specialized technology for the purification of water with granular filtration materials,
will continue to disrupt traditionally accepted practices with technological innovation, so that our children can continue to enjoy the benefits of safe water.