Join us in our work

Founded 60 years ago, Abel Co., Ltd. was established by my grandfather. My father later built the company’s foundation in stainless-steel surface treatment and electrolytic polishing. Today, we focus on Abel Black®—a product that achieves a deep black finish through surface treatment rather than coating.

Stainless steel is essential to modern life, yet we believe much of its potential remains untapped. It carries the presence of iron while resisting corrosion, and its recyclability gives it a long material life. Our color-forming surface treatment technology avoids organic solvents used in conventional coatings, significantly reducing environmental impact.

The inherent qualities of stainless steel, combined with the technologies we’ve developed, hold many of the elements society now requires. The question is how we choose to use them. We’re looking closely at fields that remain underexplored. That’s why we value original thinking, new approaches, and the willingness to try what hasn’t been done before. We actively encourage taking on challenges without fear of failure.

Abel Co., Ltd. is a team of engineers dedicated to manufacturing, but our ultimate aim is to pursue the highest standard of beauty. The name “Abel” reflects this intent: A comes from the English word ace, meaning the best or highest level, while Bel is derived from the French belle, meaning beautiful. Together, they express our guiding principle—to apply top-tier engineering in the pursuit of genuine beauty. Through this approach, we aim to create products that meet the expectations of professionals across disciplines.

Our clients demand exceptional performance and finish. In many cases, a collaboration begins when they encounter our work at an exhibition and later reach out to discuss a project. Seeing the material in person conveys its quality and refinement in a way that words alone cannot. We’ve learned to trust that experience.

While our development focuses on black finishes, we approach color with great care. Achieving a consistent black is technically demanding. There are many variations—tones that lean toward red or blue, each perceived and described differently. Our goal goes beyond appearance. We aim to maintain a refined black while also delivering functional performance, such as surface protection and hardness. This sets a high standard for surface treatment that balances aesthetics with practical use.

This pursuit of beauty extends to our working environment. We’ve learned that visual judgment suffers in cluttered spaces, so we maintain an orderly production floor where finishes can be assessed with clarity. That mindset is shared across the company. Whether in development, administration, or sales, we value processes that support the creation of well-considered, well-made products.

Abel is a company built on accumulated craftsmanship. That foundation has enabled us to achieve a level of quality that’s hard to replicate. To carry this strength forward, we share knowledge across teams and maintain an organizational structure that supports clear communication—so the skills refined by dedicated, detail-driven craftsmen can be passed on and strengthened company-wide.

Many of our clients are tackling challenges that shape the future of manufacturing. Working alongside them to solve these problems is how we believe meaningful change happens. We’re not a large organization, yet we regularly receive inquiries from companies whose work has broad social impact. Our technologies often serve in small, easily overlooked components embedded in everyday products. For example, using Abel Black® in camera parts suppresses unwanted reflections, allowing images to be captured with greater clarity. These components are now used across digital cameras, smartphones, in-vehicle cameras, security systems, and medical endoscopes. In many cases, it’s fair to say these products wouldn’t function as they do without the materials we’ve developed.

Because these parts demand extremely high precision, scaling production isn’t easy. Still, we continue to take on the challenge. Raising the standard of what we make is something only we can do—and we take that responsibility seriously.

We see invention as the act of removing the “negatives” in the world: inconvenience, uncertainty, and what’s considered impossible. That belief defines our purpose and our value. Collaboration with partners is essential. By facing challenges together, we identify where our technologies are truly needed. Purpose-driven development then leads to the creation of something new.

At first glance, our work may seem highly specialized—even difficult to grasp. In reality, it all begins with small, practical problems that emerge in the pursuit of better manufacturing. We hope you’ll keep that in mind and see Abel as a place to take on challenges that help shape what comes next.