What YBM does

YBM Co., Ltd. (株式会社ワイビーエム) is a privately held Japanese specialty equipment manufacturer founded in 1946 and headquartered in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. The company designs, manufactures, and sells ground improvement machines (GI and SI Series for residential and civil foundation work), drilling and boring equipment (ECO Series vibro-drills, JP Series water jet pumps, rotary percussion drills), grout pumps (SG Series), and water/mud treatment systems. Beyond heavy hardware, YBM has built an integrated ICT software stack to instrument those machines: Y-Navi (pile core position guidance), Y-LINK (fully automatic construction management with autopilot), Y-SPEAR (steel pipe pile driving control), and A-WARE3 (screw weight penetration test data processing). A separate environmental product line applies YBM's patented cavitation swirling flow ultra-fine bubble technology (Fabi, Foam Jet) to industrial water treatment, aquaculture, and remediation use cases.

The company sells primarily through direct field sales from six Japanese regional offices (Tokyo, Chubu, Kansai, Tohoku, Technical Support Center in Kazo, headquarters), supplemented by an Indonesia representative office for international leads and a LuckyMall@YBM e-commerce store for parts and consumables. Pricing for capital equipment is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; parts are sold on standard JPY shipping tiers (Category A: 2,000 JPY; Category B: 10,000 JPY). End customers are construction companies, civil engineering contractors, environmental services firms, and aquaculture operators across Japan and selectively in Southeast Asia.

YBM's strategic positioning rests on regulatory validation of its ICT systems (NETIS registration for Y-Navi QS-230040-A and Y-LINK QS-180013-A; MLIT ICT Construction Machinery Certification 2022-44-2-5-1-0), recognition through the 2023 9th Monozukuri Japan Award (Kyushu Bureau Director's Award), and a vertically integrated hardware-plus-software offering across the ground improvement workflow from investigation through execution to documentation. The group operates through three wholly owned subsidiaries (YBM Service for repair and maintenance, Y System Support for system services, Techno Arch for engineering) and is currently navigating a leadership transition following the February 2025 death of long-serving Board Chairman Yoshida Tetsuo.

Name

YBM

Legal name

株式会社ワイビーエム

Website

https://ybm.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

YBM Co., Ltd. is a Japanese specialty manufacturer of ground improvement machines, boring/drilling equipment, ICT construction management software, and ultra-fine bubble water treatment systems, serving construction, civil engineering, environmental, and aquaculture customers across Japan and selectively in Southeast Asia through direct regional sales offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Karatsu

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Construction Equipment Sales: Sale of ground improvement machines (GI series), grout pumps (SG series), drilling equipment (ECO series), and related construction machinery. Products include residential ground improvement machines, steel pipe driving machines, and water treatment equipment.
2. Environmental Technology Products: Sale of ultra-fine bubble generation systems (Fabi, Foam Jet) for water treatment, aquaculture, and industrial applications.
3. Parts and Consumables E-commerce: Online sales of replacement parts, tools, and consumables through LuckyMall@YBM e-commerce store.
4. Software Licensing: A-WARE3 software for screw weight penetration test data processing. Standard attachment with machines or available separately.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

YBM manufactures and sells specialty construction equipment for ground improvement, foundation work, and drilling, including GI series ground improvement machines, SG series grout pumps, ECO series vibro drills, and JP series water jet pumps. The company also sells water treatment equipment (Fabi ultra fine bubble generators, Form Jet large-flow UFB systems) and proprietary ICT construction management systems (Y-Navi, Y-LINK, Y-SPEAR, A-WARE3 software). Products are sold primarily to construction companies, civil engineering firms, environmental engineering firms, and geothermal drilling contractors in Japan with international support via an Indonesia representative office.

Product overview

YBM is a Japanese manufacturer of construction equipment and ground improvement machinery for civil engineering and construction applications. The product portfolio centers on three core equipment categories: (1) Ground improvement and foundation machines including GI Series (residential ground improvement and steel pipe driving), SI Series, and SG Series (grout/high-pressure jet grout pumps); (2) Drilling and boring equipment including ECO Series low-noise vibro-drills for environmental investigation and geothermal wells, JP Series water jet pumps, and rotary percussion drills; and (3) Software and ICT solutions including Y-Navi (ICT pile position guidance system), Y-LINK (automated construction management), and A-WARE3 (ground investigation data processing). Supporting products include water treatment systems, mixing plants, and ultra fine bubble (UFB) generation devices for environmental and aquaculture applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LuckyMall@YBM: Official EC site for YBM parts and products online store
• Y-Navi
• Y-SPEAR
• Y-LINK
• Y-Shared
• FBM (Fine Bubble Magazine)
• ファビー (Fabi)
• フォームジェット (Form Jet)

Products and services

• GI Series Ground Improvement and Steel Pipe Driving Machines (住宅地盤改良・鋼管打設機) Ground improvement and steel pipe driving machines for residential and commercial foundation construction. Includes models such as GI-50C, GI-180C, and GI-50C-β35KLⅢ-5 for various pile diameters and depths, used by construction companies and foundation contractors.
• SG Series Grout Pumps and High-Pressure Jet Grout Pumps (グラウトポンプ・高圧ジェットグラウトポンプ) Grout pumps and high-pressure jet grout pumps for ground improvement and stabilization applications, including models like SG-30SV-e. Used by construction firms for slurry mixing and ground stabilization work.
• ECO Series Vibro Drills (バイブロドリル) Low-noise vibro-drills for environmental investigation, soil contamination surveys, and geothermal well drilling. Models include ECO-8V, ECO-13GT, and ECO-3V. ECO-13GT is certified as ultra low-noise construction machinery and Off-Road Act certified.
• SI Series Ground Improvement Machines (地盤改良機) Ground improvement machines for various civil engineering and construction applications.
• JP Series Water Jet Pumps (ウォータージェットポンプ) Water jet pumps for cutting, cleaning, and material processing applications in construction and industrial settings.
• Y-Navi Pile Core Position Guidance System (杭芯位置誘導システム) ICT-enabled pile core position guidance system for ground improvement work. Provides machine guidance data creation, real-time position guidance, construction history tracking, and automated documentation compliant with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism standards. NETIS registration QS-230040-A.
• Y-LINK Fully Automated Construction Management Control System (全自動施工管理制御システム) Fully automated construction management and control system with autopilot capability. Enables remote setting of autonomous driving parameters for construction machinery and plant batch operations. NETIS registration QS-180013-A.
• Y-SPEAR Steel Pipe Pile Driving Management Control System (鋼管杭打設管理制御システム) Steel pipe pile driving management and control system for automated installation operations on construction sites.
• A-WARE3 Screw Weight Penetration Test Data Processing Software Screw weight penetration test data processing software for automated report generation from SST-100DII and SST-100SE-25II test machines. Supports N-value, Qa-value, and qu-value calculations with multiple formula registrations. Latest version 3.2.10.
• Fabi Ultra Fine Bubble Generator (ファビー) Ultra fine bubble (UFB) generation device using cavitation swirling flow method. Generates bubbles with average diameter of 100-150nm at concentration of 10^8 bubbles/mL. Available in 4 models handling flow rates from 10-340 L/min for water treatment, aquaculture, and industrial applications.
• Form Jet Large Flow Ultra Fine Bubble Generator (フォームジェット) Large flow ultra fine bubble generator using patented gas-liquid mixing technology. Handles flow rates from 50-16,000 L/min for industrial wastewater treatment, aquaculture, and environmental remediation applications. Available in 5 models from FJP-40 to FJP-300.
• SST-100SE-25II Fully Automatic Screw Weight Penetration Testing Machine Fully automatic screw weight penetration testing machine with built-in winch for rod extraction. Supports 250N, 500N, 750N, 1000N loads with USB memory data recording and optional thermal printer.
• SST-100DII Fully Automatic Screw Weight Penetration Testing Machine Fully automatic screw weight penetration testing machine with optional crawler carrier. Features touch panel display, USB memory recording, automatic load switching (250N/500N/750N/1000N), and graphical N-value display.
• YWL-30C Next-Generation Boring Machine Next-generation boring machine featuring wireless remote control, wire-line adoption for geotechnical investigation, automated drill cuttings to standard penetration testing, real-time sensor monitoring, and internet-based remote management.
• Geothermal Utilization System (地中熱利用システム) Geothermal utilization systems including dedicated drilling rigs (ECO-13GT, HD-90V-GT), grout pumps, mud screens, and thermal response testing equipment for geothermal well installation.
• Residential Ground Investigation Machines (住宅地盤調査機) Residential ground investigation machines for soil sampling and testing at construction sites.
• Boring Machines and Mud Pumps (ボーリングマシン、マッドポンプ) Boring machines and mud pumps for drilling operations in geotechnical investigation and construction.
• Rotary Percussion Drilling Equipment (ロータリーパーカッション) Rotary percussion drilling equipment for hard rock and challenging ground conditions.
• Mud Water, Turbid Water, and pH Treatment Systems (泥水処理、濁水処理、pH処理) Mud water treatment, turbid water treatment, and pH adjustment systems for environmental compliance at construction and industrial sites.
• Mixing Plant Equipment (ミキシングプラント) Mixing plant equipment for soil stabilization and grout preparation on construction sites.
• Compact Geothermal Drilling Rigs (地熱開発用コンパクトリグ) Compact drilling rigs designed specifically for geothermal development applications.
• FJ Plant System (FJプラントシステム) FJ plant system for automated mixing and processing in ground improvement applications.
• Jet Flow Water Purification System (噴流式水質浄化システム) Jet flow water purification system using ultra fine bubble technology for environmental remediation applications.
• LuckyMall@YBM Online Parts Store Official e-commerce store for YBM replacement parts, tools, rods, bits, samplers, and consumables. Requires registration for purchase with credit card payment and same-day shipping for orders placed before noon.

Quantifiable outcome

• Y-Navi construction performance exceeded 300,000 cubic meters as of March 2024, with growth rate over 200% compared to 2021
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and moderate.

• 月面フロンティアSX拠点 (Lunar Frontier SX Hub)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement with Ritsumeikan University's Lunar Frontier SX Hub, which promotes research for lunar and Mars infrastructure development, resource exploration, ground investigation, and space equipment. YBM contributes ground investigation and drilling technology expertise for space applications.
• ファインバブル産業会 (Fine Bubble Industry Association - FBIA)moderateTechnology or IntegrationPlatform for international standardization, certification, and application technology development of fine bubble technology. Industry, academia, and government collaboration for healthy market formation and accelerated development of fine bubble industry.
• 理工チャレンジ (Riko Challenge - Women in STEM Support)minorOthersYBM participates as a supporting organization for the Cabinet Office Gender Equality Bureau's initiative to encourage female students to pursue STEM fields.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Sumitomo (S.H.I.) Construction Machinery: Japanese construction equipment manufacturer producing crawler cranes, asphalt pavers, and road machinery, competing with YBM in the Japanese civil engineering and foundation equipment market.
• Komatsu: World's second-largest construction and mining equipment maker with a deep Japanese dealer network; competes with YBM in adjacent earthmoving categories and increasingly in ICT/automation, but at vastly larger scale.
• Yanmar: Diversified Japanese manufacturer of engines and compact construction equipment; competes with YBM in small construction machinery and shares overlap in Japanese ground improvement and infrastructure applications.
• Hitachi Construction Machinery: Major Japanese diversified construction equipment OEM with excavators, dump trucks, and increasingly ICT-enabled construction solutions; broad incumbent serving YBM's same Japanese contractor customer base.
• Kobelco Construction Machinery: Japanese construction equipment maker (excavators, cranes) competing for the same Japanese contractor wallet, particularly in earthmoving and foundation equipment adjacent to YBM's ground improvement portfolio.

Direct peers

• Giken (Koken Corp.): Japanese manufacturer specializing in hydraulic press-in piling ('silent piler') and ground improvement equipment — YBM's closest direct competitor in the Japanese ground improvement / piling machine market.
• Takeuchi Mfg: Mid-sized Japanese specialty manufacturer of compact track loaders and excavators — comparable in scale and vertical (compact construction equipment for Japanese contractors) to YBM, useful as a Japanese small/mid-cap peer benchmark.
• Furukawa FRONTIER (formerly Furukawa Rock Drill): Japanese manufacturer of rock drills, hydraulic breakers, and attachments for construction and mining — a direct peer to YBM in drilling and material-handling equipment for heavy-construction end users.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about YBM