2001
July 5, 2001
Establishment of Japan's First Company Specializing in Reducing the Risk of Soil Contamination in Commercial Transactions
Kurita Water Industries Ltd., (Headquarters: Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo; President, Takahide Santo), along with ten other companies, will establish Land Solution Inc (hereinafter referred to as LS).
After three years of consultations with a variety of experts in land-related industries, LS will be established in hopes that by viewing soil contamination not simply as a technical problem, but taking into consideration all risk factors related to land, a new market can be created. In addition, it is hoped that with the success of this business, the burden on the environment of Japan can be reduced and a contribution can be made to the increase of the liquidity of land assets.
In establishing LS, Kurita is fortunate to have the support of the Development Bank of Japan, Dowa Mining Co., Ltd., and companies representing all related industries have also provided the necessary capital.
LS will differ from all previous soil inspection and soil remediation companies in that it will provide integrated products and services to reduce the risk of soil contamination in commercial transactions by landowners and other interested parties. This is possible because the establishing companies bring a wide variety skills and know-how to LS.
LS is being established at a time when soil contamination is viewed not only as an environmental problem, but also as a factor which interferes with the smooth transfer of land, thereby adversely affecting its liquidity as an asset. As such, it has become a factor that cannot be ignored in the lowering of asset value and corporate value. Also, because a high level of specialization is necessary in order to resolve these issues, it is very difficult for landowners and those involved in commercial transactions to take corrective measures individually.
Identification and measurement of possible soil contamination risks makes it possible to address them through the creation of a system to handle the risks of soil contamination in commercial transactions. LS is based on the concept of creating a new market for soil inspection and remediation focusing on landowners and other interested parties. In order to make this concept a reality, Kurita Water Industries Ltd., with its ten years of accumulated knowledge and experience in the field of contaminated soil inspection and remediation, has entered a business alliance with companies in such fields as banking, non-life insurance, securities and real estate that perform specialized functions related to land transactions. The fruit of this alliance is LS, the first company in Japan able to respond with precision to a variety of soil contamination related needs.
Main Business Activities of LS:
- 1)Maintenance and operation of soil contamination evaluation systems (Four different surveys depending on customer needs)
- 2)Introduction and contracting for soil contamination inspection and construction work related to soil remediation (selection and supervision of contractors with regard to pricing and methods)
- 3)Support for real estate transactions (Marketing of liability insurance for soil contamination, formation of redevelopment plans and introduction of sales schemes for land with soil contamination risk)
Kurita Water Industries Ltd., along with the other partners in the alliance, by making the concept at the heart of LS a reality, hope to clearly identify the potential risk of soil contamination and take a step forward by evolving from a simple soil remediation business to the creation of an environmental rehabilitation industry, thereby contributing to the reduction of the burden on the environment and to the economic recovery of Japan. In achieving this goal, Kurita hopes to form more business relationships and establish de facto standards for soil contamination evaluation systems.
Attachment
LS Corporate Profile
- Company Name
Land Solution, Inc. - Established
August 1, 2001 - Representative
President, Shinichi Chino - Address
3F, Tachibana Shinjuku Bldg.
2-26 Nishi-Shinjuku
3-chome, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, Japan - Capitalization
450 millions of yen - Investing Corporations
- 1)Kurita Water Industries Ltd.
- 2)Development Bank of Japan
- 3)Dowa Mining Co., Ltd.
- 4)The Tokai Bank, Ltd.
- 5)The Asahi Bank, Ltd.
- 6)The Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.
- 7)The Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd.
- 8)The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Co., Ltd.
- 9)XYMAX Corporation
- 10)Engineering & Risk Services Corporation
- 11)E&E Solutions Inc.
- Employees
5 executives and 10 staff members, 15 total - Planned Cooperative Partner
Japan Real Estate Institute (Evaluation systems management) - Planned Alliance Partners
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. (Use of evaluation systems, land use planning, land sales)
Recruit Cosmos Co., Ltd. (Same as above) - Business Goals
Determination of prospects for success within three years. In five years, The aggregate level of revenues from all the new company's activities is expected to be several tens of billion yen.