What KDT does

KDT Co., Ltd. (株式会社K・D・T) is a Yamato City, Kanagawa-based specialist manufacturer of slit coating equipment, founded in December 2011 and incorporated in September 2014 with registered capital of 3 million JPY and a team of 4 employees. The company designs and builds slit coaters and peripheral coating equipment, anchored on proprietary high-precision slit nozzle technology developed through ultra-precision machining expertise, an automatic table-and-nozzle parallel-alignment system that eliminates manual recalibration on nozzle change, and a low-viscosity-optimized tube-frame pump delivery system.

Its product portfolio spans a multi-functional slit coater, a curved-surface slit coater capable of coating wafers and circular/irregular shapes with integrated film-thickness measurement, a development-optimized compact slit coater (950x750x900mm, 120kg) for R&D trials, a perovskite ultra-thin film coating system handling sub-1cp viscosities and 30nm films on 500mm substrates, a high-viscosity functional-material slit coater, and a capillary coater jointly developed with Japan's National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) for zero-waste wafer-only negative-electrode coating. These serve semiconductor wafer processing (8–12 inch silicon), LCD and display manufacturing, advanced materials R&D (perovskite, battery electrodes), and contract coating customers.

KDT generates revenue through direct sales of custom-engineered coating equipment (hardware sales) and commissioned contract coating services that let customers validate coating conditions before capital investment. Distribution is direct, consultative, and domestic-only within Japan, supported by a corporate website, phone line, and 24-hour inquiry form; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company is independent and founder-controlled, with no disclosed outside investors, parent entities, or M&A activity.

Name

KDT

Legal name

株式会社K・D・T

Website

https://kdt-co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KDT Co., Ltd. is a Yamato City, Japan-based specialist manufacturer of precision slit coater equipment and contract coating services, serving semiconductor wafer processing, LCD manufacturing, and advanced materials R&D customers with proprietary nozzle technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Coating Equipment

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (325510)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Functional Coatings (Anti-microbial/Anti-slip/Insulating) (IMAIAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Photoresists & Lithography Materials (Resists, Developers, Strippers) (IMAEAKAB)

Keywords

• Slit coating equipment
• Precision film coating
• Semiconductor wafer coating
• LCD manufacturing equipment
• Contract coating services

Headquarters

HQ city

Yamato-minami

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Slit Coater Equipment Sales: Design, manufacture, and sale of slit coaters and slit coating equipment. Products include multi-functional slit coaters, capillary coaters, development-focused compact slit coaters, and perovskite ultra-thin film coating systems. Custom equipment specifications based on customer product requirements
2. Contract Coating Services: Commissioned coating and slit processing services. Customers can access coating technology without equipment purchase, enabling testing of new coating liquids, differential verification with varying conditions, hands-on machine verification, and validation without equipment investment
3. Peripheral Equipment: Design and manufacture of slit coater peripheral equipment
4. Idea Product Development and Sales: Development and sales of idea-based products
5. Trading Company Business: General trading company operations

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

KDT designs, manufactures, and sells precision slit coating equipment (スリットコーター) for applying uniform thin films onto substrates such as silicon wafers, glass substrates, and metal foils. Its product portfolio spans multi-functional slit coaters, curved-surface slit coaters, compact R&D coaters, high-viscosity material coaters, perovskite ultra-thin film systems, and the NIMS-co-developed Capillary Coater. Complementing equipment sales, KDT provides fee-based contract coating and slit processing services that allow customers to validate coating processes before purchasing equipment.

Product overview

KDT is a slit coater design and manufacturing specialist offering a portfolio of coating equipment centered on its multi-functional slit coater and curved surface slit coater. The product line spans development-scale compact units, high-viscosity capable systems, perovskite ultra-thin film coaters, and the Capillary Coater (jointly developed with NIMS). KDT also provides contract coating services as a complementary offering, allowing customers to validate coating conditions without capital equipment investment. All products share KDT's proprietary slit nozzle technology, automatic nozzle-workstage parallel alignment, and fluid analysis-driven design, positioning the compact development coater as the entry point and production-grade systems as the full-scale deployment option.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Multi-functional Slit Coater (多機能スリットコーター) KDT's core slit coater that applies coating material in a slit pattern using a proprietary nozzle, enabling high-precision uniform film thickness on substrates including glass substrates and silicon wafers. Targeted at semiconductor, LCD, and functional material manufacturers.
• Curved Surface Slit Coater (曲面スリットコーター) A groundbreaking slit coater that applies coating liquid only to wafers and other curved or round shapes while measuring film thickness simultaneously, enabling uniform coating on non-flat surfaces. Targets semiconductor wafer processing where square-substrate coaters cannot be used.
• Capillary Coater (毛細血管コーター) Capillary coater developed jointly with NIMS, capable of coating not only rectangular glass substrates but also silicon wafers with minimal waste of liquid chemicals — a groundbreaking advancement over conventional slit coaters. Targeted at semiconductor and battery material applications.
• High-Viscosity Slit Coater (高粘度対応スリットコーター) Slit coater optimized for coating high-viscosity functional materials, leveraging proprietary patent technology and a unique nozzle design with fluid analysis and low-pressure-loss construction for cost-effective proposals. Targeted at manufacturers of functional films, adhesives, and high-viscosity coatings.
• Development-Optimized Compact Slit Coater (開発用最適小型スリットコーター) Compact slit coater designed for R&D use, featuring easy operation, nozzle and table heating mechanisms, and configurable parameters to quickly verify coating agent compatibility and conditions. Targeted at research labs and development teams evaluating new coating formulations.
• Perovskite Ultra-Thin Film Coating Equipment (ペロブスカイト対応極薄膜塗布装置) Ultra-thin film coating equipment optimized for perovskite materials, capable of coating at viscosities below 1cp, achieving film thickness as low as 30nm over a 500mm width, compatible with panels up to 500mm square and thin substrates as thin as 0.1mm, with anti-explosion specification. Targeted at perovskite solar cell manufacturers and advanced materials researchers.
• Contract Coating Service (受託コーティングサービス) Outsourced coating and slit coating services including collaborative coating operations, customer-operated machine coating, and KDT-operated coating using high-precision slit nozzles. Enables clients to test new coating liquids, perform differential verification under varying conditions, and validate processes without capital equipment investment. Targeted at R&D teams and manufacturers evaluating coating processes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Achieves 30nm film thickness on 500mm width substrates
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 国立研究開発法人 物質・材料研究機構 (NIMS - National Institute for Materials Science)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development partnership for negative electrode material coating technology. NIMS and KDT collaborated to create the Capillary Coater, a revolutionary system that enables coating directly onto silicon wafers with zero pharmaceutical liquid waste, unlike conventional slit coaters limited to square glass substrates. This government-academia collaboration is part of broader industry-government-academia joint development projects.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• FOM Technologies: Danish manufacturer of slot die / roll-to-roll coating equipment targeting R&D and pilot-scale production for perovskite solar, fuel cells, and battery applications. Closest comparable in scale, niche focus, and end-market alignment to KDT.
• Toray Engineering: Japanese coating and drying equipment division of the Toray group, supplying industrial coating lines for film, electronics, and display applications. Direct competitor to KDT in Japan for industrial slit/die coating equipment.
• Coatema: German specialist in slot die, comma bar, and laboratory coating machinery for fuel cells, solar, batteries, and printed electronics. Highly comparable mid-sized niche coating equipment maker with similar customer profile to KDT.

Broad incumbents

• Tokyo Electron: One of the world's largest semiconductor equipment makers, with coater/developer tracks serving front-end semi manufacturing. Defines the competitive ceiling for KDT in wafer coating applications.
• SUSS MicroTec: German-headquartered photolithography and coating equipment supplier serving semiconductor, MEMS, and advanced packaging markets. Overlaps with KDT in wafer-level coating but operates at much larger scale with broader product portfolio.
• SCREEN Holdings: Major Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturer whose cleaning/coating track systems dominate wafer processing. Represents the dominant incumbent that KDT's niche slit coater competes against in semi fab accounts.
• Hitachi High-Tech: Japanese broad-line semiconductor equipment and electronic systems supplier. Competes with KDT indirectly through integrated wafer processing systems sold to Japanese fabs.

Emerging players

• Brewer Science: US-based specialty materials and equipment company developing advanced coatings and processes for semiconductor and display applications. Adjacent niche player with overlapping customer base to KDT.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 KDT