How one Japan firm shifted its focus from steel plates to fancy phone screens

It calls itself a steel maker, but don't be misled by the name.

Japan Steel Works Ltd. is no longer just the old-world metals firm that it started life as more than a century ago. These days, the Tokyo-based company is more a technology play, supplying machinery to the makers of everything from high-end phone screens to lithium-ion batteries. So much so, in fact, that the steel and energy products business makes up less than a quarter of sales.

Now, with Apple Inc. selling its first phone boasting an organic light-emitting diode display — a sharp, vibrant screen that uses less energy — Japan Steel Works is counting on that being good for its own bottom line. While the iPhone X display supplier doesn't use the company's annealing machines, which apply a type of laser treatment to create a key layer of OLED screens, Japan Steel Works says Apple's move will help expand the entire OLED industry.