The pulp and paper industry in Japan has experienced a continuous decline in domestic production since 2000, creating challenges for growth projections and appearing resistant to dematuration trends. Among the leading companies in the industry - Oji Holdings, Nippon Paper Industries, and Rengo - Oji Holdings stands out for its exceptional sales growth, mainly attributed to its successful entry into the corrugated cardboard business since 1996. Despite Rengo’ s dominance in this sector, Oji Holdings capitalized on its strengths to make a significant entry and drive growth.

This paper aims to explore the factors behind Oji Holdings’ growth in the corrugated cardboard business over the past 25 years and its industry impact through literature and patent research. The research question addressed is: “Despite being a latecomer, how did Oji Holdings make a substantial entry into the corrugated cardboard business and contribute to the dematuration of this industry?”

As a result, Oji Holdings achieved successful entry into the corrugated cardboard business through business model transformation and product innovation. In an environment where traditional privileges were disrupted by fierce competition, leading to industry consolidation, Oji Holdings pursued vertical integration and made substantial investments to enhance efficiency. Additionally, by transitioning from virgin pulp to recycled materials like waste paper, Oji Holdings established a circular economy centered around urban areas, promoting industry-wide productivity enhancement and carbon footprint reduction. While Nippon Paper Industries pursued horizontal specialization, its profitability stagnated, indicating a need to strengthen relationships with end-users. Oji Holdings leveraged product innovation to offer sales-promoting solutions for increased in-store cardboard usage, coupled with internet proliferation, offering appealing products to consumers. These strategic decisions drove business growth and contributed to industry dematuration.

This case offers insights into how base material industries facing significant challenges such as maturation and long-term decline can undergo dematuration.