We purchased a new office in Gifu Prefecture, which became the company's headquarters. The building, which still serves as our headquarters today, has two floors, each with 495 square meters of space. The second floor houses an atelier, where our planning and development team got to work.

For the first time, we exhibited at COVERINGS, the world’s largest tile exhibition, held in the United States.

We began exporting our products.

To expand our market globally, we established a subsidiary, WAKEI & CO. in Simi Valley, California, with investment from manufacturers. Masashi Kasai, the company’s chairman, was appointed as the CEO.

To strengthen sales in the Kansai region, we established a sales office in Osaka.

We relocated our Tokyo office and created a new space that includes a showroom to inspire and help clients expand their design ideas.

As a processing specialist team, we absorbed and merged Tex・tone Planning Ltd., and X's Co., Ltd. and became a company with a capital of 13 million yen. we became a company capable to complete everything in-house, from production to sales.

Thanks to a subsidy supporting small and medium-sized businesses, as well as innovation in manufacturing, commerce, and other initiatives, we received a grant of 14 million yen. With this funding, we installed a 22 million yen roller hearth kiln and began a demonstration project to test tiles made from waste molten slag.

Our recycled tiles were awarded with the Tajimi City Innovation Award by the Tajimi City Chamber of Commerce and the Kasahara Ward Commerce Association. The technology for producing tiles from waste materials received a strong recognition, leading to this award.

The recycling tile project received an 'A rating for business feasibility' in a program implemented by the Gifu Industrial Economic Promotion Center to support innovation efforts by small and medium-sized enterprises. his rating helped us gain introductions to financial institutions and the media.

We have received the 'Regional Natural Resources Certification' from Chubu SME Support, an organization dedicated to assisting small and medium-sized enterprises in launching new businesses. With the support of the Monozukuri Subsidy, we purchased a 20 million yen Enrich Intensive Mixer (high-speed kneading mixer).

To bring our company's ecology division to life, we established the ecorevo Division. To facilitate this, we leased the adjacent land of 1,485 square meters, which includes a two-story warehouse with 495 square meters on each floor, and invested 50 million yen to transform it into an open laboratory. We also launched the 'ecorevo' brand, specializing in recycled tiles, and furthered our efforts toward a sustainable economy.

We launched the 'TAJIMI CUSTOM TILES' brand, specializing in bespoke products. The brand brings together the traditions and craftsmanship rooted in Tajimi, enabling us to fulfill a wider range of customer requests.

We were selected for the Japan Brand Subsidy by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency and launched the 'MINO SOIL' brand. Our goal is to promote, through design, the possibilities of Mino's soil, Japan's most thriving pottery region.

To respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were awarded the 'Business Restructuring Subsidy,' which supports small and medium-sized enterprises undergoing business restructuring. As a result, we introduced a 2-cubic-meter shuttle kiln (firing kiln). In addition, we also introduced a 3D modeling machine and a small test press machine, bringing significant innovation to the production of custom tiles.

TAJIMI CUSTOM TILES exhibited at the 'Milan Salone / Milan Design Week,' the world's premier design event, held annually in Milan, Italy. By collaborating with world-renowned designers, we were able to showcase to a global audience the expressive power and technical expertise cultivated by Tajimi's tile industry.

We received the Monozukuri Subsidy and introduced a new roller hearth kiln with an automated pre- and post-firing process system.

The TAJIMI CUSTOM TILES Gallery was opened on the second floor of the Open Laboratory. Under the theme 'Exploring the Possibilities of Tiles,' the gallery features exhibits designed to inspire architects and designers to expand their ideas for custom tile creation.