Japan's middle-sized monopolies and why The Economist rocks
In the Nov 7th 2009 issue of The Economist there is an article called "Invisible but indispensable". It describes middle-class companies in Japan who are world-leaders in their own field - yet are virtually unknown to normal consumers.
Did you know that while there are about a half-dozen of companies you could turn to buy a Nuclear reactor, there is only one - Japan Steel Works - which is capable of creating the solid-steel vessel that contains the radioactive part?
Shimano, which at least bicycle-fans have heard of, supplies about 60-70% of the worlds bicycle gears. 75% of the motors for hard-disks come from a Japanese company called Nidec. The article goes on and describes the various technologies that Japanese companies are the best at and its basically all the most integral parts of making semi-conductors.
So while the electronics-giants such as Sony are struggling with Chinese competition, these middle-sized companies are still virtual monopolies when it comes to, especially, the high-end of their expertise.
The article continues to describe the challenges these types of companies are facing in the world and is all in all an excellent piece of journalism! It's exactly because of these types of articles The Economist is the best source for news and information you'll find and will keep me waiting for and trusting their weekly analysis of what is happening in the world.
