Smelting & Refining University held with the aim of training smelting engineers

Smelting & Refining University has been held every year since 2017, and is a training program for new employees involved in metals. It is mainly for employees involved in metals who are in their second year after joining the company, and once they have been assigned and gained on-site experience it aims to provide a venue for further OFF-JT to link on-site production with theory and equip the employees with problem solving capabilities.

Non-ferrous metal training at universities has seen the time spent on studying metallurgy processes cut, and there are now fewer opportunities for theoretically learning about actual manufacturing with smelting and refining. The number of new employees in SMM’s metals division whose degree is not in materials (formerly metallurgy) studies is increasing, so the provision of a venue for acquiring specialist knowledge after joining the company was a human resources development issue that needed to be addressed.

The teachers at the Smelting & Refining University include the Niihama Research Laboratories researchers and managers from each plant, and two classes are held per week. Participants have stated that the classes were very valuable and allowed them to learn the differences between theory and on-site manufacturing. These classes provide a precious opportunity to gain specialist knowledge and learn how to approach work as a smelting and refining engineer. We shall continue to hold Smelting & Refining University classes, and work to train the smelting and refining engineers to whom the technology nurtured and developed by SMM will be entrusted.