ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today the integration of its subsidiaries ITOCHU MACHINE-TECHNOS Corporation (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku; Tokyo; Yoshiaki Hongo, President & Chief Executive Officer; hereinafter "ITOCHU MACHINE-TECHNOS") and ITOCHU SysTech Corporation (headquartered in Osaka-shi, Osaka; Shigenobu Matsumoto, President & Chief Executive Officer; hereinafter "ITOCHU SysTech"). The integration will take effect on April 1, 2022. The name of the surviving company will be ITOCHU MACHINE-TECHNOS Corporation. Operations that have been conducted by ITOCHU SysTech will be taken over by the new ITOCHUMACHINE-TECHNOS.

Utilizing its bases in Japan and overseas in places such as China, the United States and Mexico, and utilizing the ITOCHU group's networks, ITOCHU MACHINE-TECHNOS sells a diverse array of machines such as machine tools, food & pharmaceutical machinery, machines for manufacturing paper, plastics and semiconductors, and environment and recycling-related machinery, while also engaging in the plant engineering business. ITOCHU SysTech has been conducting sales of textile machines, nonwoven fabric machines, and machines for the manufacture of plastics, secondary batteries and semiconductors, as well as technical services, including the maintenance of the machines they sell, utilizing its bases in Japan and overseas in places such as China, Taiwan and Pakistan in addition to the ITOCHU group's networks.

The business environment surrounding the manufacturing industry has been changing significantly in recent years, reflecting the SDGs, decarbonization and growing interest in DX, IoT, automation technology and other factors, and manufacturers are expected to respond to diversified customer needs. Against this background, measures must be promptly taken to address the issues that are faced as a result. By unifying the two companies' resources through the integration, efforts will be made to expand business areas and increase the number of industries covered, provide an array of services to meet the needs of each individual customer, sell and maintain machines, thereby seeking to provide solutions to issues that are faced by a broad range of customers and industries.

Based on its market-oriented operations, the revitalized ITOCHU MACHINE-TECHNOS will engage in cross-industry and cross-functional efforts to fulfill the diversifying needs of customers and enhance its features with an eye toward the implementation of strategic mergers, acquisitions and other measures, and by doing so, strive to achieve further growth as one of the core ITOCHU group operating companies.

The integration is consistent with the Basic Policies of ITOCHU's Brand-new Deal 2023, its medium-term management plan, which include a "business transformation through the incorporation of consumer needs into products," and the "continued contribution to/efforts to achieve the SDGs." ITOCHU will continue to contribute to the development of a sustainable society by providing solutions from the customer's perspective and advancing a range of initiatives such as efforts to strengthen the Group in the environmental and recycling business areas.