Sour Corporation Co., Ltd.

What Sour Corporation Co., Ltd. does

Sour Corporation Co., Ltd. (株式会社サワーコーポレーション, SAWA CO.,LTD.) is a Japanese privately-held industrial equipment manufacturer headquartered in Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture, specializing in ultrasonic cleaning machines for precision components used in electronics and printable electronics manufacturing. The company was founded with a focus on ultrasonic metal mask cleaning for SMT production lines and has retained a narrow, specialist product strategy, with its corporate philosophy centered on environmental improvement of cleaning operations under the slogan "for the earth (地球益につくす)."

The company's core technology is a proprietary 40 kHz ultrasonic cleaning platform, applied across a portfolio that spans metal mask cleaners (SC-AH150 flagship, SC-ML736J long-seller with over 400 units delivered, SC-BM500 for bump printing, SC-AH100-LV now being discontinued in favor of the SC-AH150, and SC-500H handheld), screen mask cleaners (SC-MM7V, SC-A12 Series), mounting nozzle cleaners (SC-ENX compatible with YAMAHA, Panasonic, Fuji, ASM and JUKI mounters), gravure cylinder cleaners (SC-SGA500 for sub-50 micron patterns, SC-G100 for 700-1350 mm cylinders), parts cleaners (SC-145HA, SC-ER series, SC-BP3), handheld ultrasonic units, and handled complementary equipment including Heller MK5.5 reflow ovens and the KSH-2000W fiber laser welder. Differentiated technical features include multi-transducer arrays radiating from tank bottom and back surfaces to clean complex small-gap geometries, and a designated low-VOC cleaning agent (HA-2789, co-developed with Kaken Tech) delivering over 70% VOC emission reduction and approximately 60% running cost reduction against conventional equipment.

Revenue is generated through direct B2B equipment sales to electronics and printing manufacturers in Japan and internationally, supported by trade-show presence (Nepcon Kyushu, APEX, ProPak Vietnam), tri-language websites (Japanese, English, Chinese), and a related-party distribution relationship with SAWA Trading (サワ通商) for Heller Industries reflow equipment. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company operates as an independent private corporation with no disclosed investors, management roster, M&A activity, or revenue figures; the SC-AH150 launch (February 2026) and ProPak Vietnam 2026 debut (March 2026) are the most recent observable commercial moves, while the SC-AH100-LV last-buy sale (January-February 2026) marks a deliberate platform transition.

Name

Sour Corporation Co., Ltd.

Legal name

株式会社サワーコーポレーション (SAWA CO.,LTD.)

Website

https://sawa-corp.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sour Corporation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese privately-held manufacturer of 40 kHz ultrasonic cleaning equipment for electronics manufacturing, producing metal mask, screen mask, mounting nozzle, and gravure cylinder cleaners, plus parts and handheld cleaners, serving SMT production lines and printable electronics manufacturers in Japan and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaning Equipment

NAICS

Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Vacuum Systems (Wet/Dry, Dust Extraction) (IMAHALAC)

Keywords

• Ultrasonic cleaning equipment
• Metal mask cleaning machines
• SMT cleaning equipment
• Gravure cylinder cleaning
• Electronics manufacturing cleaning

Headquarters

HQ city

Osaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ultrasonic Cleaning Equipment Sales: Sale of industrial ultrasonic cleaning machines including metal mask cleaners, screen mask cleaners, gravure cylinder cleaners, mountainer nozzle cleaners, and parts cleaners. Revenue is generated through direct equipment sales to electronics and printing manufacturers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sour Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells industrial ultrasonic cleaning machines for the electronics manufacturing and printing industries. Its product line covers metal mask cleaning machines, screen mask cleaning machines, mounting nozzle cleaners, gravure cylinder cleaners, parts cleaners, and handheld ultrasonic cleaners used in SMT production lines, plus handled products such as laser welding and Heller reflow systems distributed through related Sawa Trading (SAWA通商).

Product overview

Sour Corporation Co., Ltd. offers a comprehensive portfolio of industrial cleaning equipment centered on proprietary ultrasonic cleaning technology. The core product line includes metal mask cleaning machines (SC-AH150, SA-MAC5, SC-BM500, SC-ML736J, SC-AH100-LV, SC-500H) for the electronics manufacturing industry, screen mask cleaning machines (SC-MM7V, SC-A12 Series) for fine-pitch applications, mounting nozzle cleaners (SC-ENX), and gravure cylinder cleaning machines (SC-SGA500, SC-G100) for printable electronics and printing industries. Additional products include parts cleaners (SC-145HA, SC-ER360W/SC-ER610J, SC-BP3), handheld ultrasonic cleaners (SC-GH250, SC-3000GS, SC-500H), and handled products (KSH-2000W laser welding machine, HELLER MK5.5 Series reflow systems). The company positions itself as addressing labor shortages through automation while contributing to sustainable manufacturing with reduced VOC emissions and energy consumption.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SC-AH150 Metal Mask Cleaning Machine High-performance metal mask cleaning machine for SMT lines, featuring a 3 minute 30 second cleaning cycle, reduced liquid consumption by half, and new design technology to suppress liquid drips and residual flux.
• SA-MAC5 Automatic Mask Cleaning Unit Automatic loader/unloader unit for continuous metal mask cleaning that integrates with the SC-AH100-LV, stocks up to 5 metal masks, and reduces operation labor by 66.7%.
• SC-BM500 Bump Printing / High-Density Mounting Mask Cleaner Bump printing and high-density mounting compatible cleaning machine that uses ultrasonic and cleaning liquid spray for fine pitch cleaning, handling masks from 320mm to 1000x740mm.
• SC-ML736J Space-Saving Metal Mask Cleaning Machine Long-seller space-saving metal mask cleaning machine with simple operation, 30% smaller footprint, and 50% volume reduction versus predecessors; over 400 units delivered.
• SC-AH100-LV High-Performance Metal Mask Cleaning Machine High-performance metal mask cleaning machine using Kaken Tech's HA-2789 low-VOC cleaning agent, achieving over 70% VOC emission reduction, 60% running cost reduction versus conventional equipment, and approximately 5 minute cleaning+drying cycle.
• SC-500H Handheld Ultrasonic Cleaner Long-selling handheld ultrasonic cleaner for metal masks offering easy and reliable cleaning compared to manual wiping; low price allows installation at each printing machine.
• SC-MM7V Large Screen Mask Cleaning Machine Large screen mask cleaning machine supporting masks from 100mm to 1000x1000mm, featuring 8 ultrasonic vibrators and spray cleaning for high-screen masks.
• SC-A12 Series Compact Screen Mask Cleaning Machine Compact screen mask cleaning machine for chip resistors and MLCC manufacturing, supporting #500 screen masks in 450mm and 320mm square versions with built-in compressed air drying.
• SC-ENX Mounting Nozzle Cleaning Machine Compact mounting nozzle cleaning machine that cleans 20 nozzles in 10 minutes using purified water only (no chemicals), confirmed compatible with YAMAHA, Panasonic, Fuji, ASM, and JUKI mounters.
• SC-SGA500 Printable Electronics Cylinder Cleaning Machine Industry-first cylinder cleaning machine for printable electronics, using ultrasonic technology to clean fine patterns below 50 micrometers and suited for 300 line class fine line cleaning.
• SC-G100 Gravure Cylinder Cleaning Machine Gravure cylinder cleaning machine handling cylinders from 700 to 1350mm, cleaning flange surfaces and cylinder cells uniformly using only 18-30 liters of cleaning fluid; also compatible with anilox rolls.
• SC-145HA Ultrasonic Squeegee Cleaning Machine Ultrasonic squeegee cleaning machine whose tank is designed for print machine squeegees, radiating ultrasonic energy from two surfaces (bottom and back) to clean small gaps effectively, connectable to metal mask automatic cleaners.
• SC-ER360W / SC-ER610J Printing Machine Cleaning Paper Cleaner Cleaning machine for the cleaning paper used in printing machines, supporting the SC-ER360W and SC-ER610J models.
• SC-BP3 Carrier Pallet and Reflow Furnace Parts Cleaner Carrier pallet and reflow furnace parts cleaning machine used to clean SMT production line support hardware.
• SC-GH250 Handheld Ultrasonic Cleaner Handheld ultrasonic cleaner designed for various paste cleaning applications.
• SC-3000GS Handheld Ultrasonic Cleaner Handheld ultrasonic cleaner for simple cleaning of various pastes.
• KSH-2000W Hand Type Fiber Laser Welding Machine Hand type fiber laser welding machine sold as a handled product for industrial welding applications.
• HELLER MK5.5 Series Vacuum Reflow System HELLER vacuum reflow oven with forced convection heating modules, high-efficiency flux recovery system, compact heating modules for flexible profile settings, and dual-lane compatibility within a single chamber; distributed via related Sawa Trading (SAWA通商).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 70% VOC emission reduction using low-VOC cleaning solution HA-2789
• +5 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Heller IndustriesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHeller Industries Korea Factory opened alongside Heller MK5.5 series vacuum reflow system distribution. SAWA通商 (Sawa Trading) serves as the Japanese distributor for Heller reflow equipment, a complementary product line to Sour Corporation's cleaning equipment.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Zestron: Global leader in cleaning chemistry and process optimization for electronics manufacturing including SMT stencil and misprint cleaning. Comparable to Sour Corporation's Kaken Tech partnership model (chemistry integrated with cleaning process know-how) rather than direct equipment competition.
• Heller Industries: US manufacturer of reflow ovens and SMT soldering equipment distributed in Japan by Sour Corporation's group company Sawa Trading. Thematically related to Sour Corporation's electronics manufacturing customer base via the reflow equipment partnership.

Direct peers

• BlueWave Ultrasonics: Manufacturer of industrial ultrasonic cleaning systems and aqueous cleaning chemistries for precision manufacturing. Comparable to Sour Corporation's combined equipment-plus-cleaning-agent offering (via Kaken Tech partnership).
• Telsonic AG: Swiss-headquartered manufacturer of ultrasonic welding, cutting, and cleaning systems for industrial applications including electronics. Comparable to Sour Corporation in ultrasonic cleaning technology and industrial B2B sales motion.
• Crest Ultrasonics: US-based manufacturer of industrial ultrasonic cleaning equipment for precision parts, aerospace, medical, and electronics. Directly comparable to Sour Corporation's product offering in industrial ultrasonic cleaning with multi-vertical reach.
• Aqueous Technologies: US specialist in fully aqueous SMT stencil and misprint cleaning equipment targeting electronics assembly lines. Highly comparable to Sour Corporation's SMT metal mask cleaning focus and water-based low-VOC cleaning positioning.
• Kaijo Corporation: Japanese ultrasonic technology company manufacturing ultrasonic cleaners, generators, and transducers for semiconductor and electronics applications. Directly comparable to Sour Corporation in ultrasonic cleaning equipment and Japan-domestic customer base.
• Honda Electronics Co., Ltd. Japanese manufacturer of ultrasonic equipment including cleaners and transducers for semiconductor wafer, mask, and electronics cleaning. Closely comparable as a domestic Japan-based ultrasonic cleaning specialist serving the same electronics manufacturing end market.

Broad incumbents

• Cleaning Technologies Group: Industrial cleaning equipment manufacturer offering ultrasonic, aqueous, and parts-washing systems across multiple industries. Overlaps with Sour Corporation's ultrasonic product line as a broader industrial cleaning incumbent.
• Branson Ultrasonics (Emerson): Global incumbent in ultrasonic plastics welding, metal welding, and precision cleaning under Emerson Automation Solutions. Competes with Sour Corporation in industrial ultrasonic cleaning but serves a much broader industrial portfolio and customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJbWXHjRyt4BXtT91k9wNkQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=100083607900736
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sawa-corporation
• Instagraminstagram.com/sawacorp/?r=nametag&__coig_restricted=1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Sour Corporation Co., Ltd.