Obayashi Corporation Establishes Capital Alliance with Cypress Sunadaya, a Manufacturer and Distributor of Timber
Enhancing the Supply Chains to Explore Timber Markets
-
Building Construction
Obayashi Corporation has established a capital alliance with Cypress Sunadaya Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of timber products, making the company a consolidated subsidiary of Obayashi.
Obayashi has formulated the Obayashi Sustainability Vision 2050, aiming at decarbonize, provide valuable spaces and services, and co-create sustainable supply chains. To achieve these targets, Obayashi is working on non-residential wooden structures that make the most of its expertise in building large structures, upholding the Circular Timber Construction® (*1) vision. This vision seeks to streamline the entire supply chains for wooden structures, ensuring that the end-to-end process remains sustainable and optimal.
Non-residential wooden architecture takes a high cost compared to conventional non-wooden architecture. To enhance price competitiveness, it is essential to streamline and stabilize supplies of wood by improving the supply chains and advancing technological capabilities.
Cypress Sunadaya, a leading manufacturer of Japanese cypress timber products, is one of the select few in Japan with large-scale machinery, which is capable of streamlining the production process, from logs to finished products. Cypress Sunadaya has advanced processing technology, large production capacity, and competitive pricing.
CLT (*2) is an up-and-coming engineered wood product and Cypress Sunadaya has facilities capable of creating Japan's largest timber boards (3 m in width × 12 m in length), making it a pioneering CLT manufacturer and distributor in Japan.
Cypress Sunadaya has previously supplied CLT boards to Obayashi for projects, such as Port Plus® (Obayashi's next-generation training facility), Japan's first fully-wooden and fire-resistant high-rise structure, as well as the Sendai Umeda Dormitory. Cypress Sunadaya has also provided CLT to many other companies, aiming to expand its business into the non-residential sector.
By establishing this capital tie-up, the Obayashi Group will collaborate with Cypress Sunadaya to develop new products and to expand its distribution network. The Group aims to address the supply chains challenges for non-residential wooden structures in the medium to long term by ensuring a reliable supply of quality timber products at competitive prices.
Cypress Sunadaya Company Overview
| Company Name | Cypress Sunadaya Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1892 |
| Head Office | Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture |
| Business Details | Production and sales of timber and housing materials |
Summary of Capital Tie-up
| Date of Share Transfer Agreement | December 15, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Share Transfer Date | February 1, 2023 |
| Share Acquisition Ratio | 46.1%, subsidiary of Obayashi by controlling stake standard |
- *1 Circular Timber Construction®
The Obayashi Group engages in wooden structure projects, drawing on its past experience, expertise, and knowledge in forestry, ensuring the entire cycle of domestic timber, from material production to sawmilling, usage, and forestation, remains sustainable and optimal. This involves upstream (forestation and forestry), to midstream (processing and procurement), to downstream (construction, power generation, reuse and recycling).
- *2 CLT
CLT is an abbreviation for Cross-Laminated Timber. CLT is a thick wooden panel produced by gluing and laminating layers of boards, where each layer is oriented perpendicular to the one below or above. First developed in Austria in the 1990s, CLT is a relatively new wooden building material that has gained momentum in its country of origin. It is now widely used in buildings throughout Europe and North America.
