MURATA BORING GIKEN （SHANGHAI）CO., LTD.

Introduction

Murata Boring Giken (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 上海村田激光技术有限公司) is a Shanghai-based Japanese-invested manufacturer specializing in ceramic anilox rollers and related surface-engineering services for printing, coating, laminating, and selected battery-manufacturing applications. The company was established in Shanghai in 2004 and is associated with Japan’s Murata Boring Giken, whose technical heritage in thermal spraying dates to 1950.

The company’s principal product is the laser-engraved ceramic anilox roller. Such rollers meter and transfer controlled quantities of ink, coating, adhesive, or other functional liquid in converting and printing processes. Murata Shanghai combines thermal spraying, precision grinding, mirror polishing, and laser engraving to produce rollers with specified line screens, cell volumes, and engraving geometries.

Within the plastics-processing ecosystem, the company occupies a specialized position rather than that of a polymer producer or machinery manufacturer. Its products are process-critical components used in flexible packaging, gravure and flexographic printing, coating, laminating, label production, and related converting operations. The company is also listed by Chinaplas as a government-recognized “specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative” enterprise.

History and Development

Murata Boring Giken’s technical background is rooted in thermal-spray engineering in Japan. The group began thermal-spray activities in 1950 and produced its first ceramic anilox roller in 1991. Murata ceramic anilox rollers entered the Chinese market in 1998, preceding the establishment of the Shanghai operating company.

Key development milestones include:

• 1950: Beginning of the parent company’s thermal-spray business in Japan.
• 1991: Production of the first Murata ceramic anilox roller.
• 1998: Introduction of Murata ceramic anilox rollers to the Chinese market.
• 2004: Establishment of Murata Boring Giken (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in Shanghai.
• Subsequent expansion: Development of applications extending from printing rollers to coating, laminating, micro-gravure, lithium-battery-related processes, and wear-repair services.

The company’s development reflects a broader shift in converting technology from conventional hard-chrome rollers toward ceramic surfaces and precision laser engraving. That shift has been driven by the need for more consistent fluid transfer, longer service life, improved print quality, and compatibility with high-speed production systems.

Business Operations and Segments

Murata Shanghai’s activities can be grouped into three closely related areas:

The company operates from Shanghai and is identified as a Japanese wholly owned enterprise. Its listed address is on Lintuo Road in Shanghai’s Jinshan District. The location places the business within one of China’s important manufacturing and export regions, with access to packaging, printing, plastics conversion, chemical, and industrial-equipment supply chains.

Products and Technologies

Ceramic anilox rollers

An anilox roller is a metering cylinder whose surface contains a regular pattern of microscopic cells. During operation, the cells receive a controlled quantity of liquid and transfer it to a printing plate, substrate, coating applicator, or laminating surface.

Murata Shanghai describes its ceramic anilox rollers as being produced through a sequence involving:

1. Thermal spraying of a hard ceramic layer onto the roller body.
2. Precision grinding to establish dimensional accuracy.
3. Mirror polishing of the ceramic surface.
4. Laser engraving of the cell pattern.
5. Inspection and finishing for the intended process application.

Laser engraving permits the specification of different line screens, cell volumes, and cell arrangements. These variables influence liquid-transfer volume, print density, coating weight, ink release, and process stability. The appropriate design depends on factors such as substrate, ink or coating rheology, doctor-blade configuration, operating speed, and the required surface finish.

Wear resistance and process durability

The ceramic surface is intended to resist abrasion in applications using doctor blades, which exert repeated mechanical contact against the roller. According to the company, the resulting service life can exceed that of conventional electroplated hard-chrome rollers by several times under suitable operating conditions. Actual durability depends on blade material, contact pressure, cleaning practices, liquid chemistry, roller maintenance, and machine alignment.

The technical value of the roller therefore extends beyond surface hardness. Consistent cell geometry and surface finish are also important because changes in cell volume or contamination can alter ink or coating transfer and produce variations in print density, coating thickness, or adhesive application.

Thermal-spray repair and restoration

Thermal spraying is used not only to manufacture new roller surfaces but also to restore worn components. The process deposits a functional coating onto a prepared substrate, after which the component can be machined and finished to the required dimensions.

Murata Shanghai identifies applications including the repair of worn rollers, drums, and bearings. Restoration can extend component service life and reduce the need for complete replacement, thereby lowering material consumption, production downtime, and certain energy requirements.

Micro-gravure and application-specific rollers

The company’s listed specializations include flexographic and label printing, coating, micro-gravure rollers, lithium-battery applications, and ceramic anilox rollers. Micro-gravure rollers are used where controlled, thin, and uniform liquid application is required. Potential process contexts include functional coatings, adhesive layers, films, foils, and specialized converting operations.

Applications and End Markets

Murata Shanghai’s products serve industries in which accurate liquid metering and surface durability affect product quality and manufacturing efficiency.

Flexible packaging and plastics converting

Flexible packaging commonly combines polymer films, printed layers, adhesives, barrier coatings, and sealant structures. Anilox rollers may be used in flexographic printing, adhesive coating, varnishing, and laminating processes. Their cell volume and engraving configuration influence ink laydown, coating weight, and the uniformity of multilayer structures.

Flexographic printing

Flexographic presses use anilox rollers to transfer ink from an ink chamber or fountain to a printing plate. The roller must provide repeatable liquid transfer at production speeds while maintaining compatibility with water-based, solvent-based, or ultraviolet-curable inks, depending on the system.

Gravure and label printing

The company identifies gravure and label printing among its application areas. These markets require controlled transfer, stable surface characteristics, and resistance to repeated cleaning and mechanical contact. Label production may involve narrow-web printing, coatings, adhesives, and high-resolution graphics.

Coating and laminating

In coating and laminating lines, engraved rollers help apply adhesives, primers, protective layers, or functional coatings to films, foils, paper, and other substrates. Uniform deposition is particularly important where the coating affects barrier performance, bond strength, optical appearance, or downstream converting behavior.

Battery-related manufacturing

The company lists lithium-battery applications among its specialties. In battery manufacturing, precision coating of electrode materials and functional layers is a critical process. Roller specifications must be matched to the coating formulation, solids content, viscosity, substrate, required coating weight, and production speed. The exact configuration and scope of the company’s battery-related products depend on the individual production line and process requirements.

Global Presence and Market Position

Murata Shanghai represents a localized manufacturing and technical presence of a Japanese-origin roller technology business in mainland China. The company describes itself as the first professional anilox-roller manufacturer in mainland China and states that it applies Japanese-origin technology and management practices. These are company-reported positioning statements rather than independently verified market-share measurements.

Its competitive position is shaped by several factors:

• Ability to manufacture ceramic rollers within China.
• Access to parent-company thermal-spray and engraving know-how.
• Capability to customize line screen, cell volume, and engraving pattern.
• Support for both new roller production and component restoration.
• Participation in multiple converting markets rather than dependence on a single printing segment.

The company’s products have also been associated with international trade activity, including shipments involving India, indicating an export dimension alongside its domestic Chinese business. Its presence in China is strategically relevant because the country has extensive packaging, printing, film, coating, laminating, and plastics-processing capacity.

Research and Development

The company’s technology development is concentrated in process engineering rather than in the formulation of commodity plastics. Important technical areas include:

• Ceramic-coating composition and deposition.
• Control of coating thickness and adhesion to the roller substrate.
• Precision grinding and surface finishing.
• Laser engraving of repeatable cell geometries.
• Matching cell volume and screen ruling to specific inks, coatings, and adhesives.
• Wear resistance under doctor-blade contact.
• Restoration methods for worn industrial components.

Research and development in this field is closely connected with customer process conditions. Roller performance is determined not only by the roller itself but also by the ink or coating formulation, machine design, doctor-blade system, cleaning method, operating speed, and substrate. Consequently, technical support and application engineering are important complements to manufacturing capability.

Sustainability and Environmental Considerations

Thermal-spray repair and component refurbishment can contribute to resource efficiency by extending the service life of rollers, drums, bearings, and related components. Reusing the underlying metal body may reduce demand for replacement parts, transportation, and some stages of new-component manufacture.

Ceramic anilox rollers may also support more stable production by improving metering consistency and reducing defects or process interruptions. Their potential environmental benefits depend on the full operating system, including cleaning chemicals, energy consumption, roller replacement frequency, ink and coating waste, and end-of-life treatment.

The environmental profile of the technology must therefore be assessed across the equipment life cycle. Ceramic processing, grinding, polishing, laser engraving, and industrial cleaning all consume energy and materials. In addition, printing and laminating operations continue to face broader sustainability pressures involving solvent emissions, multilayer-film recyclability, packaging waste, and the development of water-based or ultraviolet-curable formulations.

Quality Management and Certifications

Chinaplas identifies Shanghai Murata as a government-recognized “specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative” enterprise. This designation reflects recognition within China’s industrial policy framework for smaller or specialized firms with differentiated technical capabilities.

The company’s production quality is closely linked to dimensional control, surface finish, engraving accuracy, cell-volume consistency, ceramic-layer integrity, and inspection procedures. These characteristics are particularly important because small deviations in roller geometry can affect coating weight, ink transfer, color density, and process stability.

Innovations and Future Outlook

The company’s future development is likely to be influenced by several structural trends in printing and plastics converting:

• Growth in high-quality flexible packaging and label production.
• Greater use of thinner films and lightweight packaging structures.
• Demand for lower coating weights and more precise liquid transfer.
• Expansion of water-based, ultraviolet-curable, and other alternative ink systems.
• Increased automation and process monitoring on printing and coating lines.
• Development of battery, electronic-material, and other functional coating applications.
• Greater interest in repairing and refurbishing industrial components to reduce resource use.

For Murata Shanghai, the principal strategic opportunity lies in combining durable ceramic surfaces with increasingly precise engraving and application-specific engineering. Its challenge is to maintain performance across rapidly changing formulations and production conditions while meeting customer requirements for shorter delivery times, consistent quality, environmental compatibility, and technical support.

The company’s position is therefore best understood as that of a specialized enabling supplier. It does not manufacture the polymer films, inks, adhesives, or complete printing presses that form the wider plastics-converting system; instead, it supplies a precision component that influences the efficiency and quality of those processes.

Summary

Murata Boring Giken (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is a Shanghai-based manufacturer of ceramic anilox rollers and related thermal-spray and surface-engineering products. Established in 2004 from a Japanese technical lineage dating to 1950, it serves flexographic and gravure printing, labels, flexible packaging, coating, laminating, micro-gravure, and selected lithium-battery applications.

Its principal technological contribution is the combination of thermally sprayed ceramic surfaces, precision finishing, and laser engraving. This approach enables controlled liquid transfer, resistance to abrasive doctor-blade contact, customized cell geometries, and the restoration of worn industrial components. Through these capabilities, the company occupies a specialized but important position within the plastics, packaging, printing, and converting industries.

References

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  CPS+ eMarketplace. (n.d.). MURATA BORING GIKEN （SHANGHAI）CO., LTD.MURATA BORING GIKEN （SHANGHAI）CO., LTD.. CPS+ eMarketplace. https://www.chinaplasonline.com/eMarketplace/ExhibitorInfo?CompId=1036499Link