COMPANY PROFILE / FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
Proterial
Formerly Hitachi Metals: a privately held materials maker putting heavy-rare-earth-free sintered magnets under its NEOMAX brand
Proterial is the materials maker that changed its name from Hitachi Metals in January 2023; it makes specialty steel, wire and cable, magnetic materials and more. This profile covers only its magnets (NEOMAX) and soft magnetic materials. It traces the neodymium magnet to Sumitomo Special Metals, which invented it in 1982, and the company says it holds more than 600 patents worldwide on sintered neodymium magnets. In July 2025 it announced sintered magnets that use no heavy rare earths (with representative magnetic properties), and in October 2026 it published, with Germany’s FEV, a simulation study of an xEV traction motor that combines those magnets with an amorphous alloy core. Its current form is privately held: a consortium led by Bain Capital completed a tender offer in October 2022. Magnet-only sales and output are not disclosed in the documents we could confirm.
- Proterial in 30 seconds, and where it sits in functional materials
- Logo and naming
- Where the company sits in functional materials
- Company size (brief)
- Resources committed to functional materials
- Track record so far
- Plans ahead
- What the company seems to be aiming for
- Partnership map in functional materials
- Technology, products and services
- Risks
- Glossary / References / Claim-to-source audit
1. Proterial in 30 seconds, and where it sits in functional materials
Bain Capital-led consortiumTender offer completed October 2022; renamed January 2023
Components & devices (secondary)Core: NEOMAX sintered neodymium magnets and soft magnetic materials
with FEV (October 2026)Simulation results, not guaranteed product values
Proterial is one of the few magnet makers to publish, generation by generation, tables of magnetic properties both for technology that uses less heavy rare earth (grain boundary diffusion) and for sintered magnets that use none Sourced. At the same time, as a holder of sintered neodymium magnet patents, it has stated officially that it licenses certain patents to Shin-Etsu Chemical, TDK, European magnet makers and others. Because it is not a listed company, magnet sales, profit and capital spending are not disclosed, and the areas its integrated report names for “aggressive investment” are aircraft and silicon nitride substrates for power electronics Not yet confirmed. Magnets are a large business, but whether they are the center of the company’s investment story cannot be read from public documents.
2. Logo and naming
Naming note: on 4 January 2023 the company changed its name from Hitachi Metals, Ltd. to Proterial, Ltd.. The integrated report explains the “PRO” in the name as three words: Professional, Progressive and Proactive. The company’s history goes back to 1910, and its website says the current legal entity was formally established in April 2021. The NEOMAX brand traces to Sumitomo Special Metals. Note that the company is no longer part of the Hitachi group. The logo is the one published on the company’s official website.
Official site: https://www.proterial.com/e/3. Where the company sits in functional materials
Proterial is mainly a materials and raw-material maker, with sintered neodymium magnets (NEOMAX), ferrite magnets (NMF), bonded magnets and soft magnetic materials (Metglas amorphous alloys, FINEMET nanocrystalline, soft ferrites). It also makes magnet applications and core components, so it has a component-and-device side too. For the basics of permanent magnets, see our explainer on permanent magnets and rare earths; for magnets that avoid or reduce rare earths, see our explainer on rare-earth-free magnets. In this series, see also our profiles of Shin-Etsu Chemical (which makes the same kind of sintered magnet and appears as a licensee in this article), Niron Magnetics (a new material) and MP Materials (rare earth mining and separation through to magnets).
4. Company size (brief)
Company-wide size is shown briefly. The size of the magnet business could not be obtained as a number from the documents we read Sourced.
| Metric | Figure | Date and basis |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated revenue | ¥747.3 billion | Year to March 2026 (the company calls it FY2025) |
| (For reference) consolidated revenue | ¥1,033.2 billion | Year to March 2024 (FY2023, Proterial Report 2024). Includes periods before businesses were later sold |
| Employees | Consolidated 16,456 Non-consolidated 5,101 | End of March 2026 |
| (For reference) consolidated employees | 21,456 | End of March 2024 (Proterial Report 2024) |
| Capital | ¥1,000 million | 1 July 2026 |
| Representative | Sean M. Stack (Representative Director, Chairperson, President and CEO) | 1 July 2026 |
The fall in revenue and headcount has to be read together with the company’s sale of Waupaca Foundry (North American automotive iron castings), another subsidiary and its piping components business between December 2023 and August 2024 Sourced. The company gives no amounts for the effect of these sales, so this article does not calculate it. Magnet (magnetic materials) sales and operating income do not appear in the text of the company documents we read, and we could not confirm them Not yet confirmed.
5. Resources committed to functional materials
The table shows, for each of the four resource types, whether primary sources let us confirm it.
| Resource type | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
| People | Magnet headcount not found. In November 2025 it set up a Motor Solutions Department inside its Marketing & Sales Division, to verify and propose value from the viewpoint of motors and complete drive systems rather than single materials. Corporate research is done at the Global Research & Innovative Technology Center (GRIT, established 2017) | Sourced (headcount not found) |
| Money (capital spending and R&D) | Magnet capital spending and R&D not found. The Proterial Report 2024 names aircraft (a plan certified under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s supply-security scheme, with subsidies expected of up to ¥7.5 billion) and silicon nitride and silicon carbide substrates as areas of aggressive investment. No amount for magnets is given | Sourced (for magnets not found) |
| Outside investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures | In 2007 it merged the magnet operations of Sumitomo Special Metals (NEOMAX). In 2016 it set up a neodymium magnet manufacturing company in Nantong, China. In 2018 it made Santoku Corporation a subsidiary, to optimize the flow of materials for neodymium magnets from raw materials to finished products (company description). From December 2023 to August 2024 it sold Waupaca Foundry, Ward, Inc. and its piping components business. Patent licences go to Neorem Magnets Oy, Vacuumschmelze, Shin-Etsu Chemical, TDK and others | Sourced |
| University, research-institute and public-funding links | Participates in the Magnet Materials Open Platform (Magnet MOP) of the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and four magnet makers (launched May 2022 to develop high-performance permanent magnets that do not rely on rare elements; company description). Takes part in a project on mass production of amorphous motor cores at the Next Generation Tatara Co-Creation Centre (NEXTA) at Shimane University. Joint study with FEV (Germany) | Sourced |
Status of key products and facilities
| Product | Details (company announcements) | Stage | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sintered neodymium magnet NEOMAX (heavy-rare-earth-saving M-Diffusion) | NMX-G1NH: heavy rare earth use about one-fifth of conventional diffusion technology (simulated, terbium-equivalent). Br 1.42 T, HcJ at least 1,830 kA/m (representative values) | In mass production (from 2019) | 2019- | Reference 6 |
| Heavy-rare-earth-free magnet, third generation NMX-F1SH-HF | Br 1.40 T, HcJ at least 1,671 kA/m (representative values). The mass-production plant supplied pre-production samples | Samples supplied | July 2025 | Reference 6 |
| Heavy-rare-earth-free magnet, fourth generation NMX-G1NH-HF | Br 1.42 T, HcJ at least 1,830 kA/m. Achieved at research facilities. The mass-production plant was to take sample requests from April 2026 (company plan) | Achieved in research; samples planned | July 2025 (announcement) | Reference 6 |
| Ferrite magnet NMF (prototype motor) | Output above 100 kW, needed for BEV and PHEV traction motors, confirmed with a ferrite-magnet motor (company verification) | Verification | 2023-2024 | Reference 12 |
| Laminated, bonded amorphous alloy ribbon for motor cores | Continuous lamination and bonding with a packing density above 90% (company description) | Developed | February 2024 | References 12, 13 |
| Magnet plants | We could not confirm the locations or capacity of magnet manufacturing sites in the English website or the text of the Proterial Report 2024 | – | – | References 1, 3 |
The company’s July 2025 announcement says motors are exposed to temperatures of 100°C or higher, so heavy rare earths (terbium, dysprosium) have been added to secure the magnet’s heat resistance (coercivity, HcJ) Sourced. In its table, NMX-S41EH, with the conventional composition that includes heavy rare earth, has Br 1.28 T and HcJ of at least 1,989 kA/m; NMX-U48SH, with conventional diffusion technology, has Br 1.40 T and HcJ of at least 1,830 kA/m; and NMX-G1NH, with the company’s M-Diffusion, has the same HcJ with Br 1.42 T, using about one-fifth of the heavy rare earth of conventional diffusion (a terbium-equivalent simulated value). The heavy-rare-earth-free line runs from first-generation NMX-S49F (Br 1.39 T, HcJ at least 1,273 kA/m) to fourth-generation NMX-G1NH-HF (Br 1.42 T, HcJ at least 1,830 kA/m), a rise of about 1.4 times in the HcJ lower limit (1,830 ÷ 1,273) Our calculation. The company attributes the progress to “controlling impurities and optimizing composition and process,” but does not disclose the specific composition or heat treatment.
All of these are the company’s representative values, not guaranteed values, and the announcement gives no test temperature or other conditions. The fourth-generation figures were achieved at research facilities, not on volume product. This article does not set them against other makers’ values to rank them.
6. Track record so far
| When | Event | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Predecessor Tobata Foundry founded (company timeline) | A materials maker that began with castings |
| 1956-1967 | Took over Hitachi, Ltd.’s metals business as Hitachi Metals Industries; renamed Hitachi Metals in 1967 | Became the Hitachi group’s materials company |
| 1982 | Sumitomo Special Metals invented the neodymium magnet (company statement) | Origin of NEOMAX |
| 2003 | Acquired the Metglas amorphous metals business of Honeywell of the U.S. | Strengthened soft magnetic materials |
| 2007 | Merged the magnetic materials operations of Hitachi Metals and Sumitomo Special Metals; NEOMAX launched | Integration of the magnet business |
| 2016-2018 | Set up a neodymium magnet manufacturing company in Nantong, China (2016); made Santoku Corporation a subsidiary (2018) | Strengthening production and raw-material flow |
| 2019 | Began mass production of heavy-rare-earth-saving magnets using M-Diffusion (company table) | A volume product that reduces heavy rare earths |
| October 2022 | A consortium of Bain Capital, Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) and Japan Industrial Solutions (JIS) completed its tender offer for Hitachi Metals shares; Hitachi, Ltd. announced it would leave the consolidated group through a sale of its shares back to the company after the offer | Left the Hitachi group; private-equity-led |
| January 2023 | Name changed from Hitachi Metals to Proterial; capital restructuring by the consortium (integrated report) | New structure |
| December 2023-August 2024 | Sold Waupaca Foundry, Ward, Inc. and the piping components business | Portfolio review |
| February 2024 | Developed laminated bonded amorphous alloy ribbon for motor cores | A motor material beyond magnets |
| July 2025 | Announced heavy-rare-earth-free sintered neodymium magnets (third and fourth generations) | Moving from using less heavy rare earth to using none |
| August 2025 | Published a notice on its sintered rare earth magnet patents and licences (citing concern over tighter Chinese export controls) | A clear statement of its patent position |
| November 2025 | Set up a Motor Solutions Department within its sales division | From materials to the drive-system viewpoint |
| October 2026 | Simulation study with FEV of an xEV traction motor combining an amorphous alloy core and heavy-rare-earth-free magnets; presented at the Aachen Automotive Colloquium (5-7 October) | Showing material value at system level |
7. Plans ahead
All of these are company plans or statements, not things already achieved Not yet confirmed. The FEV study’s figures (300 kW output, 27% lighter motor, 97.9% efficiency and so on) are simulation results, and the company itself says they are not guaranteed product values.
None of the following was found in official sources Not yet confirmed.
NEOMAX magnet sales, operating income, output and global share / locations and capacity of magnet plants / magnet capital spending / whether pre-production samples of the fourth-generation heavy-rare-earth-free magnet were actually supplied / the delisting notice itself (the integrated report describes the January 2023 capital restructuring and new shareholders, but we did not check a delisting document) / Santoku Corporation’s current ownership / how NIMS itself describes Magnet MOP.
8. What the company seems to be aiming for
This section includes things the company does not say directly. They are inferences from what primary sources show, given with their grounds.
| What we read from the record | Primary-source grounds | Status |
|---|---|---|
| It is trying to sell the value of the motor and drive system, not of the magnet alone | The Motor Solutions Department was set up in November 2025; the FEV study covers a motor design including magnets, amorphous core and gear ratio | Inference |
| Differentiation rests on cutting heavy rare earths to zero, and on patents | It publishes generation-by-generation property tables and says it concentrates on heavy-rare-earth-free development and patent filings. It says it has in principle not licensed diffusion, heavy-rare-earth-free or low-oxygen-process patents | Sourced |
| Patent licensing is managed as part of the business | The August 2025 notice lists licensees with per-site conditions; Shin-Etsu Chemical and TDK are restricted in manufacturing and sales for China | Inference |
| Magnets may not be the top investment priority | The Proterial Report 2024 names aircraft and silicon nitride and silicon carbide substrates as examples of aggressive investment | Inference |
| It is proposing an alternative (ferrite magnets) at the same time | It confirmed output above 100 kW with a ferrite-magnet motor and says it has begun proposing ferrite for traction motors | Sourced |
The August 2025 notice says it was issued because of concern that tightening Chinese export regulation of rare earth materials would seriously affect the manufacture and supply of rare earth magnets Sourced. It then states that, of its more than 600 patents, those on heavy rare earth diffusion, heavy-rare-earth-saving, heavy-rare-earth-free and low-oxygen process technologies have in principle not been licensed. This suggests that amid supply-chain disruption the company made its patent-based position in the magnet industry explicit. The company has not stated that intent; it is our interpretation Not yet confirmed.
9. Partnership map in functional materials
10. Technology, products and services
The magnet products are the sintered neodymium magnet NEOMAX, high-performance anisotropic ring magnets and the ferrite magnet NMF. The company lists automotive, electronic and home-appliance motors as uses, and it also supplies magnet applications such as linear motors, voice coil motors and undulators for synchrotrons Sourced. Surface treatments can be chosen from aluminum coating, nickel plating, epoxy coating and passivation (M-1); standard coating thicknesses are at least 2 μm for aluminum, 5 μm for nickel and 7 μm for epoxy (all standard values).
| Generation / technology (company’s name) | Material code | Heavy rare earth used (comparison) | Br [T] | HcJ [kA/m] | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional composition with heavy rare earth | NMX-S41EH | 10 (as Tb) | 1.28 | at least 1,989 | Baseline for comparison |
| Conventional diffusion technology | NMX-U48SH | 1 | 1.40 | at least 1,830 | Representative example |
| M-Diffusion | NMX-G1NH | about 1/5 | 1.42 | at least 1,830 | In mass production (from 2019) |
| Improved M-Diffusion | NMX-H1EH | about 1/5 | 1.45 | at least 1,989 | Pre-production samples available |
| Heavy-rare-earth-free, 1st generation | NMX-S49F | 0 | 1.39 | at least 1,273 | – |
| Heavy-rare-earth-free, 2nd generation | NMX-S49FH | 0 | 1.39 | at least 1,512 | – |
| Heavy-rare-earth-free, 3rd generation | NMX-F1SH-HF | 0 | 1.40 | at least 1,671 | Pre-production samples available (July 2025) |
| Heavy-rare-earth-free, 4th generation | NMX-G1NH-HF | 0 | 1.42 | at least 1,830 | Achieved at research facilities; plant samples from April 2026 (plan) |
The values above come from the table in the company’s July 2025 announcement and are manufacturer’s stated representative values, not guaranteed ones. Heavy rare earth use is a “terbium-equivalent simulated value,” shown with conventional diffusion technology as 1. No test temperature or other conditions are given Sourced. In soft magnetic materials the company also offers the Metglas amorphous alloy (core material for transformers since 2003, which it says cuts standby loss to about one-third of conventional core materials), the FINEMET nanocrystalline soft magnetic material (commercialized in 1988, a world first according to the company), soft ferrites and metal powder cores.
The FEV study is an electromagnetic simulation of a design in which the motor core is switched from silicon steel sheet to amorphous alloy ribbon, which has lower iron loss, and the magnets are heavy-rare-earth-free neodymium magnets. Against a reference model (230 kW, 8 poles and 72 slots, maximum speed 14,900 rpm), the study case has 12 poles and 72 slots, a maximum speed of 20,000 rpm and a gear ratio raised from 10.8 to 14.4, and gives a peak output of 300 kW, a motor weight of 72.8% of the reference (27% lighter) and WLTP Class 3 efficiency rising from 95.5% to 97.9% Sourced. From a materials standpoint, amorphous alloy has low iron loss at high speed, so a design that raises maximum speed and shrinks the motor becomes workable. But amorphous alloy is hard and thin, and punching and lamination are hard; the company says it achieved a packing density above 90% with continuous lamination and bonding.
The company states that these figures are simulation results under specified conditions and not guaranteed product values. The magnetic properties of the heavy-rare-earth-free magnets also include values achieved at research facilities, and the announcement does not show whether volume product has been verified in a real motor.
11. Risks
| Risk | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy rare earth and rare earth supply | The company expresses concern that tighter Chinese export controls will seriously affect magnet manufacture and supply. On 4 April 2025 China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs, in Announcement No. 18 of 2025, put items related to medium and heavy rare earths including dysprosium and terbium under export control. We did not verify later developments against government documents | Sourced |
| Opacity of the magnet business | Magnet sales, profit and plant capacity could not be found, so profitability and competitiveness cannot be checked from outside | Sourced |
| Volume production of heavy-rare-earth-free magnets | The fourth generation is a research-facility value; volume production and customer qualification were unconfirmed at announcement | Sourced (target not yet confirmed) |
| Changes in the patent environment | Patents expire, and wider licensing or other makers’ technical progress can change the position patents give. The effect of licence scope and terms on the business is not disclosed | Inference |
| Investment priority and restructuring | It sold several businesses in 2023-2024 and prioritizes investment in aircraft and power electronics. How much funding magnets receive is not disclosed | Inference |
| Ownership structure | Under private-equity-led owners, further sales or reorganizations of businesses could occur. The company has not announced any specific plan | Inference |
12. Glossary
- NEOMAX
- Proterial’s brand of sintered rare earth magnets, based on neodymium-iron-boron.
- M-Diffusion
- Proterial’s own diffusion technology, which uses less heavy rare earth than conventional diffusion.
- Heavy-rare-earth-free (HRE-free)
- Magnets that use no heavy rare earths such as terbium or dysprosium.
- Remanence (Br)
- The strength of magnetic flux remaining in a magnet after magnetization. Unit: T (tesla).
- Coercivity (HcJ)
- Resistance to demagnetization by a reverse field. Unit: kA/m.
- Amorphous alloy
- A metal with no crystal structure; it has lower iron loss than electrical steel. Metglas is Proterial’s trade name.
- FINEMET
- Proterial’s nanocrystalline soft magnetic material, used for noise suppression and cores.
- Magnet MOP
- A platform of NIMS and magnet makers for developing magnet materials that do not rely on rare elements.
13. References
- Proterial Corporate Summary (founding, capital, representative, employees at the end of March 2026, revenue for the year to March 2026, headquarters). https://www.proterial.com/e/corp/profile.html
- Proterial Corporate History (Detailed): renaming from Hitachi Metals (January 2023), NEOMAX, the Chinese magnet manufacturing company and others. https://www.proterial.com/e/corp/history.html
- Proterial Product page, “Magnetic Materials”: NEOMAX, NMF, ring magnets, magnet applications. https://www.proterial.com/e/products/magnetic/
- Proterial Product page, “Nd-Fe-B Magnets NEOMAX”: surface treatments and standard coating thickness, description of heavy-rare-earth-saving materials. https://www.proterial.com/e/products/magnetic/neomax.html
- Proterial News release, “Proterial and FEV Jointly Validate xEV Traction Motor Concept Using Amorphous Alloy and High-Performance Heavy-Rare-Earth-Free Magnet Technology” (5 October 2026). https://www.proterial.com/e/press/2026/n1005.html
- Proterial News release, “Proterial Develops High-Performance Heavy-Rare-Earth-Free Neodymium Sintered Magnet for Electric Vehicle Driving Motors” (22 July 2025). https://www.proterial.com/e/press/2025/n0722b.html
- Proterial Notice, “Sintered Nd-Fe-B Magnets” (5 August 2025): patents, licensees, reference to China’s export controls. https://www.proterial.com/e/pdf/pi20250805ec.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024, “CEO’s Message”: new shareholders, business sales, investment in aircraft and silicon nitride substrates. https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_06.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024, “Overview of Corporate Governance”: the capital restructuring led by Bain Capital in January 2023. https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_25.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024, “Milestones in Creating Value”: NEOMAX (2007), Santoku Corporation (2018). https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_07.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024, “Proterial’s Strengths of Value Creation”: the Magnet Materials Open Platform (NIMS and four magnet makers). https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_09.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024, “Providing Environmental Value As a Green Enabler”: supply of magnets for xEVs (company estimate), ferrite-magnet motor, amorphous cores. https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_13.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024, “R&D Activities & Achievements”: NMX-G1NH, verification of a ferrite-magnet motor and others. https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_15.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024, “Proterial’s Businesses”: FY2023 consolidated revenue and employees, business composition. https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_10.pdf
- Proterial The Proterial Report 2024 (soft magnetic materials feature): FINEMET, Shimane University’s Next Generation Tatara Co-Creation Centre (NEXTA). https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_12.pdf
- Bain Capital “Bain Capital-Led Consortium Announces Successful Close of Tender Offer for Hitachi Metals’ Common Shares” (26 October 2022). https://www.baincapital.com/news/bain-capital-led-consortium-announces-successful-close-tender-offer-hitachi-metals-common
- Hitachi, Ltd. “Notice Regarding Completion of Tender Offer for Shares of Hitachi Metals by K.K. BCJ-52” (26 October 2022). https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2022/10/f_221026.pdf
- Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China Announcement No. 18 of 2025, “Announcing the decision to implement export control on some medium and heavy rare earth related items” (4 April 2025; English version). https://english.mofcom.gov.cn/Policies/AnnouncementsOrders/art/2025/art_0dd87cbee7b045bf93fabe6ab2faceee.html
- Proterial Official website (source of the logo). https://www.proterial.com/e/
14. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the text | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Company overview (founding, capital, representative, employees, revenue, headquarters) | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.proterial.com/e/corp/profile.html |
| Corporate history (renaming from Hitachi Metals, NEOMAX, Santoku and others) | Sourced | Reference 2, 10 https://www.proterial.com/e/corp/history.html https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_07.pdf |
| Magnet product lineup (NEOMAX, NMF, ring magnets, magnet applications) and surface treatments | Sourced | Reference 3, 4 https://www.proterial.com/e/products/magnetic/ https://www.proterial.com/e/products/magnetic/neomax.html |
| Joint study with FEV (motor design, simulation results, the Motor Solutions Department) | Sourced (simulated values) | Reference 5 https://www.proterial.com/e/press/2026/n1005.html |
| Property table for heavy-rare-earth-free magnets, M-Diffusion, patent counts, the plan to supply fourth-generation samples | Sourced (manufacturer’s representative values) | Reference 6 https://www.proterial.com/e/press/2025/n0722b.html |
| Patent notice on sintered rare earth magnets and licensees (Neorem, Vacuumschmelze, Shin-Etsu Chemical, TDK and others); reference to Chinese export controls | Sourced | Reference 7 https://www.proterial.com/e/pdf/pi20250805ec.pdf |
| 2023 CEO message (new shareholders, business sales, aircraft investment and subsidies) | Sourced | Reference 8 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_06.pdf |
| Corporate governance (the capital restructuring led by Bain Capital in January 2023) | Sourced | Reference 9 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_25.pdf |
| Magnet MOP (NIMS and four magnet makers, launched May 2022) | Sourced (company description) | Reference 11 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_09.pdf |
| The ferrite-magnet motor verified above 100 kW, amorphous cores, supply of magnets for xEVs (company estimate) | Sourced (company description) | Reference 12 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_13.pdf |
| R&D results (NMX-G1NH, amorphous ribbon and others) | Sourced | Reference 13 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_15.pdf |
| FY2023 consolidated revenue and employees, business composition | Sourced | Reference 14 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_10.pdf |
| Shimane University’s NEXTA and participation in the amorphous motor core project | Sourced | Reference 15 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_12.pdf |
| Completion of the tender offer by the Bain Capital-led consortium (26 October 2022) | Sourced | Reference 16 https://www.baincapital.com/news/bain-capital-led-consortium-announces-successful-close-tender-offer-hitachi-metals-common |
| Hitachi, Ltd.’s announcement (tender offer completion; Hitachi Metals leaving the consolidated group) | Sourced | Reference 17 https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2022/10/f_221026.pdf |
| MOFCOM / General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 18 of 2025 (4 April 2025) | Sourced | Reference 18 https://english.mofcom.gov.cn/Policies/AnnouncementsOrders/art/2025/art_0dd87cbee7b045bf93fabe6ab2faceee.html |
| Logo from the official website | Sourced | Reference 19 https://www.proterial.com/e/ |
| NEOMAX sales, operating income, output, share, capital spending, plant locations and capacity | Not yet confirmed | Not stated in official sources; this article makes no estimate Reference 1 https://www.proterial.com/e/corp/profile.html |
| The delisting notice itself, Santoku’s current ownership, how NIMS itself describes Magnet MOP | Not yet confirmed | Not checked in this article; limited to what the integrated report states Reference 9 https://www.proterial.com/e/sustainability/integrated_report/pdf/2024_25.pdf |
| M-Diffusion uses about one-fifth of the heavy rare earth | Sourced (terbium-equivalent simulated value) | Reference 6 https://www.proterial.com/e/press/2025/n0722b.html |
| Ratio of HcJ lower limits, first versus fourth generation (about 1.4 times) | Our calculation | This article’s calculation (1,830 ÷ 1,273); a comparison between generations of one company, not against other makers |
| It is selling the value of the motor and drive system, not the magnet alone | Inference | This article’s interpretation (from the Motor Solutions Department and the FEV study) |
| Patent licensing is managed as part of the business | Inference | This article’s interpretation (from the August 2025 notice) |
| Magnets may not be the top investment priority | Inference | This article’s interpretation (from the integrated report’s account of investment) |
| Risks on the patent environment, investment priority and ownership structure | Inference | This article’s interpretation |
| The four company types (materials, components, coatings, new approaches) | Our calculation | This article’s own grouping; company names are examples from this series |
Last updated 10 October 2026 / Troy Technical
This article draws on Proterial’s website, news releases, integrated report and patent notice, announcements by Bain Capital and Hitachi, Ltd., and an official announcement by China’s Ministry of Commerce. Magnetic properties and similar figures are the company’s representative values, not guaranteed values. No research-firm estimates or press-only figures have been used. Passages marked “Inference” are this article’s interpretation of primary sources, not statements made by the company.