IR 2022.10.28

ASNOVA's business that leads to solving social issues

ASNOVA opened two new locations in FY03/2023 (Tosu City, Saga Prefecture in August 2022 and Kamimikawa-cho, Tochigi Prefecture in September 2022), the cornerstone of its mainstay scaffolding rental business equipment center, and as of October 2022 had 19 locations across Japan. This is the largest scale among rental providers on wedge binding type scaffold.
In this issue, we will introduce why ASNOVA is opening new equipment center stores and how ASNOVA's business is directly related to solving social issues.
ASNOVA will continue to grow by contributing to solving social issues and customer problems, and building a circular economy.

Text：Motoharu Anami

INDEX

PROIFILE

ASNOVA's top priority: solving social issues

・ASNOVA's business environment

Firstly, there are three major environments surrounding ASNOVA's business.

1) Demand for "repairs of aging apartments"

Demand for repairs due to an increase in the number of dilapidated apartment buildings built over 30 years ago.

② Demand for "increased natural disasters caused by global warming, etc."

In addition to the increasing frequency of natural disasters in recent years, damage caused by aging buildings is becoming more severe than before, creating a demand for rapid recovery and reconstruction assistance.

The day after a natural disaster, we get so many requests for scaffolding rentals that our phone never stops ringing.

3) Demand for "home renovations due to changes in lifestyle and values"

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major changes in lifestyles and values, leading to increased interest in housing and demand for home renovations.

All of this requires scaffolding equipment.

Scaffolding rental business is an indispensable business for society in order to solve social issues such as repairs and disasters.

We believe that the demand for scaffolding rental will continue to expand in the future in a sustainable world that is required by society.

・Superiority of wedge binding type scaffold handled by ASNOVA in social issues

The "wedge binding type scaffold" handled by ASNOVA has good construction efficiency, transportation efficiency, and storage efficiency, so it is a scaffolding that leads to the solution of the shortage of human resources, which has been an issue in recent years, and is the scaffolding with the highest penetration rate in Japan widely used for detached houses and low- and medium-rise condominiums.

History of new center openings

・Reasons for choosing a rental company

ASNOVA's main customer, scaffolding Contractor, considers the most important aspect of choosing a scaffolding rental company to be able to rent nearby.

ASNOVA is still developing, but we have equipment center stores nationwide, and we have a large amount of equipment, so we are ready to rent it at any time.

・ Equipment Center Store Opening Criteria

When ASNOVA opens a equipment center store, it selects a location based on three criteria: a prefecture with a large number of housing starts, a prefecture with a large number of key industries, and a prefecture with a small population decline based on future population projections, based on the premise that it will be easy for customers to use. Based on that standard, in 2022, we opened new centers in Saga and Tochigi prefectures.

・Solving problems in Kyushu Saga Tosu Center

~ Meeting Kyushu's needs, solving social issues, and expanding bases throughout Kyushu ~

Saga Tosu Center, which opened in August 2022, is located in Maki-cho, Tosu City, Saga Prefecture, close to Tosu IC and Kurume IC, making it a very convenient location. It is an equipment center that is easy for customers to use because of its good visibility.

Until now, ASNOVA has only developed equipment center in Honshu, but now it has expanded to Kyushu.

The main reasons for this are the renovation market and the need to protect against natural disasters.

Kyushu has a large renovation market and many natural disasters such as typhoons and floods, so there is a very large demand for scaffolding.

Saga Tosu Center connects the major cities of Kyushu in about two and a half hours by car, and has a very accessible and geographical advantage.

In addition, we have received many rental requests from customers in Kyushu so far, but with this store opening, we were able to create an environment where they can rent. In the future, we plan to expand our network of bases to various parts of Kyushu, mainly in Saga Tosu Center.

・Reasons for opening a new store in Tochigi Prefecture

~ Strengthening efforts in the Kanto area, which boasts the largest market size, and meeting customer needs ~

Tochigi Kaminokawa Center, which opened in September 2022, is located in Kamimikawa Town, Tochigi Prefecture, close to Mooka IC and Utsunomiya Kamimikawa IC. Since it has a wide frontage along a busy road, it is a center with good visibility and is very easy to use.

In addition, the main reasons for opening new stores are the large size of the market and customer needs.

The Kanto region is the most densely populated area in the country, and has the largest renovation market in the country.

ASNOVA had six equipment center locations in the Kanto area, but the need for rentals was too high, so they opened a new store.

With its easily accessible and convenient location, the new store will aim to strengthen its base in the Kanto area by improving convenience for existing customers in northern Kanto and meeting the needs of new customers.

It is also close to Ibaraki and Fukushima prefectures, allowing it to meet a wide range of needs in northern Kanto.

The opening of equipment center stores responds to such customer requests and solutions to social issues, and contributes to a recycling-oriented society. In order to solve social issues as soon as possible, we believe that it is essential to create an environment where customers can rent at any time, nearby, and with peace of mind, and to develop equipment center throughout the country.

We continue to receive rental requests from all over the country, so we will continue to open new centers in the future. We believe that the trust we gain from customers and society will lead to the growth of ASNOVA.

・Paradigm shift: from purchasing to renting

Many scaffolding construction companies own a certain amount of scaffolding and rent only the amount that is needed for construction work. Due to the recent rise in steel prices, the purchase price of scaffolding has increased, and in light of the uncertainty of the future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, customers who purchased scaffolding are shifting to renting. Given these circumstances, it is likely that the need for rentals will increase even more in the future.

Scaffolding equipment to all over the country! ~Sociality of ASNOVA STATION~

All of ASNOVA's equipment centers have been directly managed until now, but in October 2022, ASNOVA launched ASNOVA STATION, a service in collaboration with local partners who share ASNOVA's aspirations, such as creating supply chains and contributing to local communities anda recycling-based society.
By this we aim to establish partnership agreements with businesses in regions where scaffolding is not well received, expand our bases, and create an environment where we can rent "anytime, nearby, and with peace of mind" all over the country.

Rental business that will be required even more in the future ~ Scaffolding Rental Business's social skills~

ASNOVA invests approximately 1 billion yen in scaffolding equipment every year, and plans to invest approximately 2 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2023. The depreciation period of wedge binding type scaffold is 5 years, but it can be used for a long time, 20~30 years, depending on the management method, and can contribute to a recycling-oriented society. As of June 2022, ASNOVA has approximately 9.2 billion yen worth of scaffolding equipment, but it is still not enough to solve social issues and meet customer needs, and we believe that further investment in scaffolding is necessary.

・ASNOVA's vision

ASNOVAwill develop various businesses in the future, but each business will incorporate our thoughts on social issues.Until now, the business model has been linear, based on mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal. As a result, climate change and resource shortages are becoming more serious.
Therefore, in order to address social issues such as climate change and resource shortages, there is an increasing need to shift to a business model in which things are shared by everyone.
ASNOVA wants to popularize scaffolding rental, solve social issues, and contribute to the realization of a recycling-oriented society.
We will continue to grow as a company by contributing to a recycling-oriented society and solving social issues in ways that only a rental company can do.
We will continue to offer the world things that only ASNOVA can do, things that are worth doing, and things that only ASNOVA can do, and we will continue to challenge ourselves to think about what kind of value we can create and how we can create sustainable growth for the company.