JAPAN AUTOMOBILE RECYCLE NETWORK NEWSVol. 79

SEPTEMBER 2014 http://www.jara.co.jp

Published by JARA Corporation
Tokyo Head Office: Shinwa Bldg. 1-2-2-7F
Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN 103-0027
Phone: +81 3 3548 3010 / Fax: +81 3 3231 4690

Festival and attractions
for the public
To better communicate to the local
community what the company does, it
decided to hold a car recycling festival.
In addition to an automobile recycling
plant observation tour, the festival
features a car dismantling demonstration
using nibbler machine. An “ExchangeBazaar”, where visitors can swap used
toys, various stalls and other festival-day
attractions provide fun for the wholefamily.

as Kubota Car Dismantling. After
gradually increasing its vehicle
dismantling volume and expanding its
business, it incorporated in 1991. With
Festival leads to rise in directly
an eye toward the enforcement of thepurchased ELVs
Automobile Recycling Law, it relocatedto Hosoe, Miyazaki City, in 2001. WithThe 4th Automobile Recycling
the development of adjacent land plots inFestival
was held on Sunday, August 3.
2005and2011,
thecompany’ssitehasMiyazaki Prefecture-based KubotaThefestivalis held regularly to make it aexpanded
to364,400squaremeters.
Auto Parts Co. is actively involved in theconstantinthe company’s social
Havingupdatedits
facilities,
thebusiness of dismantling end-of-lifecontribution
tothe local community.
companyturnedtoactivepromotional
vehicles and producing recycled parts on“Invitingas
manypeople as possible toefforts.
Itplace
datotalof120
its 36,400 square-meter site. The
thefestival
will
help improve oursignboards–including
thosethatshow
thecompany is strengthening acquisition ofcompany’simage,” explains thedistancetothecompany–within
a10km
ELVs and, with an understanding that–inpresident.
Also,
the
festival atmosphereradius,makingiteasierfordrivers
andother words of company President
has
greatly
increased
communication
otherstovisitthecompany.
It
also
Yasunori Kubota–“Living together withwithin
thecompany.
launched
advertisingon
television
andinthe local community and social
Such promotional efforts are favorably
local newspapers. As a result, thecontribution are also essential”, isimpacting
the company’s business. The
awarenessof
KubotaAutoPartshasbeenengaging in various activities. ThreenumberofELVs
purchased directly fromsteadilyincreasing.
years ago, the company began holding avehicleownersinthe general public isIn
addition,itoperates
aplantvisit
big annual event called, “Automobileincreasing,
withapproximately 30
programforschoolchildren
inresponse
Recycling Festival”, in which it opens its
percentof
thenow
approximately 700
toarequest
from
local
elementary
plant to the public. Many people, mostly
ELVs
acquired
fromindividuals.
schools,whichsoughttomake
thecoming in families, attend the event,The company will continue tocompany’s plant a field trip destination.
which helps raise the company’s
strengthen
its ELV acquisition, includingWith
theprogram,which
operates
frompresence in the local community.
that involving vehicles sourced directly
May through November, being more
Publishedby SPN Co.,Ltd.
fromindividualvehicleowners. The
popular than expected, the company has
120 signboards set up
JAPAN AUTOMOBILE
RECYCLENETWORKNEWSTokyo Head Office: Shinwa Bldg. 1-2-2-7F
recycleralsoaims
tostrengthenits
had to limit the number of schools
within a 10km radius
Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN 103-0027
cor
por
ate
culturebyfocu
singo
visiting
seven perhttp://www.spn-partner.com
Vol. 02 MARCH
Phone: +81 3 3548 3010 / Fax: +81 3 3231 4690 n
2008to approximatelypersonnel development. (Dailymonth.
Kubota Auto Parts was established byAutomotiveNews, July 24 issue)
former President Shigeru Kubota in 1975Kubota Auto Parts
strengthens social
contribution activities

JAPAN AUTOMOBILE RECYCLE NETWORK NEWS No.79 SEPTEMBER 2014 < 2 >Sankei Shokai launches"Kizuna Project" to support
Iwate auto service and repair
businesses suffering fromdisaster
Automobile recycling company
Sankei Shokai Co. started on Aug. 1 theyear-long “Iwate Prefectural Repair
Factory Disaster Recovery Support‘Kizuna’ Project” to help automobile
repair businesses in Iwate Prefecturethat suffered from the Great East Japan
Earthquake in 2011. This is the second
time for Sankei Shokai to conduct theproject, which was first conducted in2012. The company decided to initiate
the project again, because past-disasterreconstruction is lagging, especially in
the Iwate’s coastal area.
To support repair businesses in suchareas for one year, the company will
coordinate donations to the Iwate
Prefectural Repair Factory Development
Association (IRFDA) based on of a
portion of proceeds from sales in Iwate,
Aomori and Akita prefectures of rebuilt

parts and of new parts made byparticipating companies.
The “Kizuna Project”, in which 21
rebuilt parts manufacturers and new parts
wholesalers are participating, is scheduled
to run through July 31, 2015. Twoexternal auditors will check and makereport on the flow of the donations, which
will be made to four hard-hit branches ofthe prefectural association: Ofunato,Kamaishi, Miyako and Kuji.
On July 25, Sankei Shokai Managing
Director Taisuke Konno, chief leader ofthe project, and Morioka Branch Manager
Tetsuya Morinaga, sub-leader, visited theIwate Repair Factory Development
Association and explained the outline of
the year-long project.
Association Managing Director Fumio
Suzuki expressed his appreciation bysaying, “It will greatly strengthenreconstruction and business operations
toward the future.” Konno said, “Weappreciate all manufacturers andwholesalers that agreed to our proposal.”In the wake of the tsunami disaster, 90
repair factories were found to be damaged
among IRFDA members. Of those, 41
factories are back to full-scale operations,while 24 resumed operations using
tentative facilities. Nine factories are still

Demand for recycled parts increase as vehicles age
Repair cost hike also positive factor
The average service life of vehicles has been extending inrecent years. In 2013, it stood at roughly 14 years. Vehicles inuse are also increasing, while older vehicles are accounting for
more of such year by year. Vehicles in need of repair are, thus,
expected to increase.
Also, as insurance premiums increases, car owners are opting
to have repairs done without using their insurance, meaning thatthe demand for self-funded car repairs is steadily increasing.
Repair businesses are creating new ideas to attract users.
Some have begun to provide two estimates–one for repair costs
using new parts and one for repair costs using recycled parts.
Positive factors for the diffusion of recycled parts seem to beappearing in the market.
Still-rising transport costs
Nevertheless, there are issues. Buoyed by a weaker yen, used
vehicle exports began to increase. Recyclers are expressing
concerns about “even older vehicles are going to overseas”.
Competition in acquiring vehicles among recyclers hasintensified.
To make matters worse, the cost of transporting recycledparts is increasing, putting pressure on recyclers. With
economic recovery, transport companies now need to transport
more goods, but are suffering from a shortage of drivers, afterhaving reduced their workforces due to the previous severe
economic slowdown. The situation has translated into higher
transport costs, which are being buoyed further by rising fuelprices due to the worsened situation in the Middle East. Thus,
recyclers, which frequently use transport services, are facing
hard conditions. In addition, with the public’s interest in safetyissue ever heightening, it is becoming difficult to continue using

suspending operations and 16 were forced
to close permanently. Sankei, jointly with
its partner parts manufacturers andwholesalers, aims to acceleratereconstruction in the coastal area.
Companies supporting the project arelisted below.
Rebuilt Parts Manufacturers: Urawa
Industry Division of Matsui Universal
Joint Corp., ATM Co, AT Service
Tohoku, KSS, Koyo Carburetor, Japan
Rebuilt Co., Shin-Etsu Denso Co., Diesel
Seiki Co., Nagao Techno K.K., Nihon
Diesel Corp., BRE Kanto, Fuji-Linkage,Inc., Plus One, TAS Corp., Repeat Co.,
Rebuilt Parts Kanto, Links Japan Co.,
Watanabe Motors Co.
New Parts Wholesalers: SB ShokaiCo., Iwaki Radiator Co., Soars Japan Ltd.
(Daily Automotive News, Aug. 1 issue)

hitherto methods of packaging parts. And recyclers now have tofind solutions to meet transport companies’ request to adopt
packaging that mitigates damage to other transported goods.
To address these issues, the “Automobile Recycled Parts
Logistics Study Association” was established by recycler groups
and transport companies. The association serves as a platform
for exchanging opinions and ideas, and is now moving towardobtaining concrete results from efforts to develop common
packaging specifications and joint transport routes. Each
recycler group is starting to consider the development of more
efficient ways of packaging and it seems that an increase inactivities related to logistics are also about to get underway.
First, accurate information
In order to promote the use of recycled parts, the focus
should be on the customer. Service and repair businesses, who
are users of recycled parts, are calling on the distribution
industry to not only consider parts producers, but theconvenience of parts users, as well.
JARA has been conducting factory visit in each block, inwhich member recyclers go to major repair shops. “Seeing how
recycled parts are used in the shops will change our own
perspective on parts production,” said a JARA person in charge,
adding that recyclers and repair staff can “achieve coordination
between both sides” by exchanging opinions on the spot. To
understand the viewpoint of repair businesses, who are theusers, is important for recyclers for improving quality. Also,
more recycler groups are conducting seminars and workshopsthat focusing on the user’s viewpoint. At these gatherings,
discussions center on such issues as how to take photos ofrecycled parts. The automotive recycling industry is drasticallychanging in line with changes in the business environment.
Recyclers are required to not only think about the direction inwhich they want to take their business, but also to accurately
grasp information. (Daily Automotive News, Aug. 25 issue)

JAPAN AUTOMOBILE RECYCLE NETWORK NEWS No.79 SEPTEMBER 2014 < 3 >JAPAN AUTOMOBILE RECYCLE NETWORK NEWS No.79 SEPTEMBER 2014 < 4 >