I would like to begin by thanking our shareholders and investers for your continued and invaluable support.

Since our founding, we have committed ourselves to advancing development in PCB processing using screen-printing techniques. Screen-printing techniques refer to methods of ink-based printing using printing plates that are typically fitted with aluminum frames holding fine-mesh screens of nylon, stainless steel, tetron (a polyester rayon blend), etc. Most people think of letterpress or offset when they hear the word "printing," but screen printing is employed on many of the items that we see and use each day, like T-shirts and coffee mugs. Screen printing also finds wide application in technical areas, such as PCB production, because it is not limited to flat surfaces. It works equally well on items with various shapes, like curved or convex surfaces.

Screen-printing techniques require a fine balance of control among numerous parameters, including the printing plates, the inks, and the environment. In this respect, screen printing demands the sensitivity of a craftsman. Noda Screen has grown through the years by focusing on this aspect and specializing in fine screen-printing techniques. Today, as electronic equipment becomes increasingly compact and multifunctional, it is vital that PCBs also grow more compact and evolve toward higher-frequency, higher-density mounting. Noda Screen is able to offer a wide range of solutions for the next generation of PCB production by drawing from the wealth of screen-printing techniques that we have accumulated over the years to achieve a steady stream of leading-edge PCB fabrication processes.

Today's electronic components industry, including PCBs, finds itself in a persistently severe business climate due to ongoing price competition from the rise of Chinese and other Asian producers, the bursting of the IT bubble, and other factors. Against this background, Noda Screen aims to sustain growth by reconfirming our basic business principles, which emphasize the importance of "devoting efforts each and every day to creating truly high-quality products, and reaping the innovative ideas that evolve in the process." By maintaining this tradition of craftsmanship while fostering the courage to take new steps, to create groundbreaking new products, we hope to continue meeting the expectations of our shareholders and investors.

Hideaki Ogata, President