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insulated, products that conserve water, and power generators. In addition, our continual technological innovation and business integration activities enable us to respond to a variety of housing needs, such as making homes barrier-free so as to lessen the burden of nursing care, making homes earthquake-resistant, and installing crime- and disaster- prevention technologies. 

## Linking Change to Business Opportunities 

In general, construction work often involves multiple tasks being performed on the same day. A company that makes only one type of material can only handle one task, which makes it difficult to carry out the overall con- struction and logistics process in an efficient manner. 

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In contrast, the JS Group is the only provider in Japan with a business struc- ture that spans a diverse range of fields. In April 2010, we launched a compre- hensive sales organization called Lixil Corporation that aims to offer all of the JS Group’s products and services in a one-stop format in the future. With this new company, we should be able to transport a variety of materials all at once to the job site, thereby reducing transport costs and CO$_{2}$ emissions. Also, installation and other work can be performed efficiently with only the required number of workers. 

We also launched “Ken Depot” ( Ken is a Chinese character meaning con- struction materials). These comprehen- sive stores specialize in providing construction materials to professionals, thereby boosting the Group’s home 

## The JS Group is actively developing  and selling eco-friendly products. 

center operations. In the past, the emphasis of construction material distri- bution was placed disproportionately on new construction, and did not ade- quately meet the needs for home reno- vation work, which are usually small projects done quickly. Based on the concept “carrying everything in-store,” I think Ken Depot will function as “conve- nience stores” for construction workers. 

The environment has become one of the most important issues for people around the world, and this is spawning many business opportunities. For its part, the JS Group is actively involved in developing and selling eco-friendly  products. For example, last year we expanded sales of Inplus , an inner window system for home renovations. This product provides insulation and eliminates draughts, thereby saving lots 

