Happy New Year to you all! Thank you very much for your support during the past year. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our employees. We will continue to strive to improve our services in the coming year, and we would like to ask for your continued support.
　What kind of year will this be for Nanophoton? I asked employees about their aspirations for this year. (Email Newsletter editor-in-chief / freelance writer Takeshi Nemoto)

Yusuke Shiozaki, Manufacturing & Service GM

2022 pledge: “We will try new things.”

The year 2021 was my second year as GM of Manufacturing and Service.
　In manufacturing, we continued to work on areas that had not been touched in the past, and established a manufacturing system by transferring RAMANwalk from development to manufacturing. In other areas, we started to feel the effects of the global shortage of semiconductors and the disruption of logistics around the spring of 2021. It is still difficult to handle, and this situation is likely to continue in 2022, but we will continue to work to prevent any major impact.
　On the service side, we have provided service training to the engineers in the Tokyo showroom. Up until now, our service base has been mainly in Osaka, but we are working to make deliveries and follow-up services available in Tokyo as well.
　In 2022, I would like to spend more time on things other than manufacturing and service, while of course continuing to work as an extension of what we have done so far. I want to do what I can’t do, because I don’t see much personal growth if I keep doing what I can do.

Hiroaki Minoura, Sales GM

2022 pledge: “I will strive to get organized.”

In 2021, I have been working on the planning and promotion of strategies for the sales channels of Nanophoton products based on the company’s strategy, and as a result, I think I have been able to show a significant direction. As a result, I think we were able to show a significant direction, and I would like to take this initiative further forward in 2022.
　In 2021, we were unable to meet with customers and distributors in person due to the impact of COVID-19, but we were able to make up for it through online negotiations and online demonstrations.
　In 2022, we expect that the impact of COVID-19 will gradually disappear, so we expect that we will be able to do even better.

Mariko Adachi, Senior Engineer, Sales & Applications

Goal for 2022: “Aim for national domination!

We provide both measurement and sales support for our customers to consider equipment. We are also developing applications to expand the Raman market. At Nanophoton, our love for Raman microscopy is second to none!
　In 2021, we have been able to resume a little bit of demo measurement with visitors to our showroom as well as online demo. In the new year, we hope to have even more customers experience our equipment and propose equipment that meets their needs.
　At the end of the year, our Osaka showroom will have our long-awaited ultraviolet and deep-ultraviolet laser scanning RAMANtouch vioLa demonstrator, which will allow us to show five types of laser Raman microscopes simultaneously: touch, walk, drive, view, and vioLa. We will try our best to start demonstration of vioLa in early 2022. We would like to plan Raman seminars and other events while monitoring the situation in the world, so we hope you will look forward to them.
　Our goal for 2022 is “Aim for national domination! for 2022. We hope that customers in prefectures that do not yet have Nanophoton’s Raman equipment will install the equipment!

Kota Saito, Research and Development Chief Researcher

2022 pledge: “We will focus more on research and development.”

I am Koudai Saito, in charge of R&D.
　The year 2021 was full of changes, starting with the launch of the new R&D center after the relocation, starting the development of new products, and debuting the demonstration unit of RAMANtouch vioLa, an ultraviolet/deep ultraviolet Raman microscope, in the showroom.
　In 2022, we will focus more on research and development and strive to announce new products. We also hope to resume our conference activities, which we have tended to refrain from due to the corona disaster. We look forward to working with you at Nanophoton this year.

Yuma Orita, R&D Chief Software Engineer

2022 Pledge: “Make Software More Intuitive”

I am in charge of software development, adding functions to make the equipment easier to use and to respond to customer requests.
　Looking back on 2021, I have the strongest impression of the showroom relocation. The office has changed and I can see the whole office now, so I think I have more conversations with other employees.
　In 2022, I would like to improve the software to make it easier, more understandable, and more intuitive to operate. We have been developing software to make it easier to use, but there are still many things that can be improved, so we will continue to develop software while incorporating the opinions of many people.

Katsuhito Aoki, Sales & Applications Engineer, Tokyo Showroom

2022 pledge: “We will bring you useful information.”

Last year, many people read this newsletter, and the data I measured was no exception. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the many people who contacted our company after reading the data I measured, and are actually working on the introduction of Raman microscope.
　Most of the readers of this newsletter are those who use analytical instruments in their daily work such as research, development, and quality control, and those who are engaged in sales of analytical instruments. For such readers, I think that the interview with the secretary to the chairman and the articles on the scientist restoration school may have been a little boring because they are not connected with measurement and analysis (Sorry, Mr. Nemoto, the editor-in-chief, who has to come up with a story for each issue!) In fact, the response to the issues with measurement data tends to be larger and last longer than the other issues. From this, I am convinced that what satisfies many readers the most is high quality measurement data.
　This year, I would also like to introduce as many measurement data and measurement cases as possible so that I can deliver useful information to many readers. I look forward to your continued patronage of Nanophoton in the coming year.

Naoko Nakamura, Accounting Manager, Administration Division

2022 pledge: “From analog to digital.”

I am Naoko Nakamura, in charge of accounting in the administration department. This year, I heard that the administration department will be undergoing a new reform.
　”From analog to digital”.
　I would like to challenge myself without hesitation. First of all, I tried to draw an illustration digitally for the first time in my life. I was frustrated because I couldn’t draw as well as I wanted to, but I wanted to get better at it. I realized that this feeling is what “challenge” means. I look forward to working with Nanophoton again this year.