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CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIOJapanese firms ready to build a better future
Japan’s labor shortages due to its aging population, the need to refurbish and maintain aging infrastructure, increasing natural disasters,
climate change and the shift towards carbon
neutrality due to environmental concerns. Theseare just some of the main challenges facing theconstruction and related industries in Japan
today. And in order to tackle these challenges,
companies and stakeholders are turning to DX(digital transformation) and the power of newtechnologies such as IoT and automation.
“In the past, we were able to secure plentyof workers, so there was no incentive or driving force to introduce additional means. It wasmore efficient to focus on having multiple workers take care of one construction-related task,rather than focusing on increasing the capability of one worker. But the environment has
drastically changed, and it’s now important toincrease per-capita productivity for instance byutilizing DX and/or AI,” says Soichiro Masuoka,
President of Masuoka Gumi, a civil engineeringand building construction services company thathas embraced new technologies such as drones,
3D mapping and AI to enhance its operations.
EARTHTECHNICA, meanwhile – a company
that provides crushing and grinding machineryto the construction and other industries – hasadopted sensor technology, 3D imaging technology and Big Data to improve monitoring andevaluation work. “In the past, human operators
conducted inspections by eye. But now automation and sensors are used to manage a very
stable condition on the field,” explains president
Masahiko Nishii. “3D imaging is a very high-leveltechnology, so we asked our parent company,
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, for design cooperation. Competitors of the same size as us find itvery difficult to have such a large R&D capacity.
As we are part of the Kawasaki Heavy Industriesgroup, that engineering and technological edge
is what we have over our competitors.”
Japan’s declining population also has spurred
the shrinking of the domestic market, forcing many
companies to look abroad for business growth.
While doing so, Chikami, a company which supplies functional raw materials to the construction
and other industries, aims to develop a businessmodel that promotes collaboration with local
firms. “Major American, European and Japanesecompanies have not disclosed any of their technologies to locals, and what tends to happen isthat those major companies take the technology
and do the work by themselves in order to retain
said technology,” states president Kunio Chikami.
“We need to change the business model to build
win-win relationships with local companies.”
With companies in five countries, Yabashi
Holdings operates in the construction, machinery and mining industries. President Tatsuyoshi

Yabashi also describes his company’s approachto overseas business, stressing the importanceof synergy and collaboration. “At Yabashi, ourcore strength is having companies in different
countries and industries, all independently working hard to achieve monozukuri – perfection
and innovation in manufacturing. The variations
between the group’s global locations trigger a
synergic effect. We believe the more we understand each other culturally and business-wise, thelarger the synergic effect. That is why we want topresent an example of multicultural cohabitation.”
Optimization, sustainability and automation
will prove key as companies are faced withincreasingly limited resources, be it materials orhuman capital, as pointed out by Noriyuki Ishihara, president of construction-related trading
company Ishihara. “First, as an environmentallyfriendly company, when using gypsum board, it
is pre-cut at the factory, so no waste is generated at the construction site. And all gypsum
board cut in our factory is 100% recycled. This is
one of our strengths,” he adds. “Another activity
is optimization. Due to the labor shortage thesedays, it is difficult to secure human resources
and to improve work efficiency, so we have to introduce new technologies such as robots. These
integrated systems help alleviate the burden onoperators, and this is key given the scarcity ofhuman capital in the domestic market.”Paper material trader Chikami the “connectivetissue” for cross-industry collaboration
Since its foundation in 1946, Chikami Miltec has continued to be an integrated
provider of functional raw materials, supporting key industries such as paper andnon-woven fabric manufacturing, machinery and construction and civil engineering.
With a huge selection of products to the pursuit of further businessranging from raw materials and growth. We are trying to look at thefunctional products to industrial market from a bird’s eye perspective
materials needed for civil engineer- rather than a narrow-sighted one.”The company already enjoys aing, Chikami Miltec has been an
established industry player for more certain international status with
their Geodrain product, a prefabthan three quarters of a century.
Due to Japan’s well-documented ricated vertical drain (PVD), which
demographic issues, the company is used in civil engineering for soft
ground improvehas set its sights on
ment, and has
global expansion.
become standard“In Japan, producin Japan, Vietnam
tion and consumpand many othertion are shrinking
countries arounddue to population
the world.
decline, but if youThe story belook at the wholehind the develworld, the populaopment of thattion is increasing,”
Kunio Chikami, CEO,product
is intersays president
CHIKAMI MILTEC INC.
esting, according
Kunio Chikami.
to Mr. Chikami,“Therefore, we
because it shinesmust take a global
a light on how theview when it comes www.c-miltec.co.jp

fi rm views itself in today’s increasingly fast-paced age.
“We want,” Mr. Chikami says, “toexist as a connector, filling the gaps
in order to create new value. Any
mediator needs to have extensiveknowledge of the fields it wishes toconnect, as well as the capacity toanalyze what’s missing and propose
something new.”Looking to the future, therefore,
the company is focusing more on
collaborating with foreign entities
and personnel in joint ventures. Keyto this enterprise will be the hiringof employees who can operate as abridge between Chikami and overseas companies.
“Having talent that can bridge gaps
will be key to our company’s growth,”
concludes Mr. Chikami. “Many companies would like to hire creators andinventors; our focus is on employees
who can act as connectors.”“B!CLECA” Cleaning cards & items

PVD ground improvement

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