TIME Asia interviewed President Riyako Namiki

We are pleased to announce that an interview with President and CEO Riyako Namiki was published in Time Asia (November 21 and 28, 2022, issues.)

In this post, we present the entire article.

Diamonds are Forever

Japanese firm Orbray began life manufacturing jewel bearings and now pioneers the latest electronics components.

 Innovation has been the sparkling heart of Japane­se technology company Orbray right from the start. Tasked with crea­ting jewel bearings for industrial manufacturing, the business expanded and the product range grew quickly. Expertise in jewel bearings led to pre­cision parts for watches, phonograph styli, small motors for personal music players, fiber-optic components and medical devices.

Unsurprisingly, the peak of this development came with the most precious stone of all. Orbray has made a huge impact with high-purity diamond wafers, the biggest of its kind in the world. Applications include quantum computing and even aerospace, as seen from the ‘Space Delivery Project’ to send its diamonds to the International Space Station for testing. “Our diamond has been in outer space for almost six months,” said Riyako “Lily” Namiki, President of Orbray Co., Ltd. “We believe the further understan­ding gained from this project could be utilized in innovative device applications.” Such ambitions are key to the firm’s future.

“With our extremely diverse knowledge,
we continue to innovate
precision components.”

Riyako “Lily” Namiki

In January 2023, Orbray will be the official brand name for the firm formerly known as Orbray Co., Ltd. This approach to innovation is exemplified by Lily, one of the few female corporate presidents in Japan. She wants to place kindness and warmth at the heart of her leadership.

She plans to combine the firm’s history and expertise with fresh thinking for a bright fu­ture. “ ‘Orb’ stands for the planet, and ‘ray’ connotes ‘light.’ If each employee believes in themselves, they can shine even brighter, allowing the company to emit an even stronger beacon of hope for the future.”

Content by Global Kigyo Co., Ltd.