Dowa Holdings

Dowa Holdings (DOWAホールディングス株式会社) is a Japanese nonferrous metals manufacturer. The company is a component of the Nikkei 225 stock index.

History
Fujita-gumi, the forerunner of DOWA, was established by three brothers from Yamaguchi prefecture in 1881. The brothers had personal connections with influential members of the government, so in 1884 they bought the Kosaka mine, from which they expanded their business into various fields, centered on the coal mining business. After the purchase, Fujita-gumi increased its capital and invested heavily in skilled labor and equipment. By 1888, the Kosaka mine became Japan's top producer of silver.

In 1900, an engineer at Kosaka succeeded in extracting copper by accessing kuroko (black ore — a mixture of copper, zinc and lead) deep in the mine. After that, Kosaka changed its focus from silver to copper, and in 1907, became Japan's largest copper producer.

Current Activities
Dowa main business is in the recycling and metal processing. Dowa has six business segments; Environment and Recycling, Smelting & Refining, Electronic Materials, Metal Processing, Heat Treatment, and Other which is real estate leasing, construction, management, and technical support services.

In 2024, Dowa filed a patent for gold plating. In 2024, Dowa was granted a patent for copper plating.

Subsidiaries
Dowa Holdings has several subsidiaries, including Dowa Eco-System, Dowa Metals and Mining, Dowa Electronics Materials, Dowa Metal Tech, and Dowa Thermotech.

Dowa Metals and Mining
In 2010, Dowa Metals & Mining Co. was the fourth-largest copper smelter in Japan. As of January 2024, the company owned the largest zinc smelter in Japan.

Dowa Eco-System
Dowa Eco-System manages waste and recycling in Asia, and runs a plant in Singapore which works to recover precious and nonferrous metals. In 2016, Dowa Eco-System partnered with Padaeng Industry Plc (PDI) to build industrial waste management factories. It developed the technology for Singapore’s first vertical waste incinerator.

Dowa Electronics Materials
Dowa Electronics Materials was the largest supplier of indium in Japan as of 2010.

Dowa Metal Tech
In November 2017, auto supplier Dowa Metal Tech opened an $11 million plant in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Dowa Thermotech
Dowa Thermotech manufactures furnaces and provides heat protection treatments. In 2018, it invested $22.5 million to build a plant in North Carolina.