国際協力銀行の広報誌

Industry Finance Group
Finance Office for SMEs
Director General

Toshiyuki Suzuki

In July 2017, Hidetou Usuyama was appointed as Executive Officer and Executive Officer for West Japan and Toshiyuki Suzuki was
appointed as Director General of Finance Office for SMEs. They were both involved in supporting Japanese mid-tier enterprises
and SMEs in their years as young and mid-career employees. They talk about their aspirations for JBIC’s future support. Under the
new management team, JBIC will support Japanese mid-tier enterprises and SMEs which wish to expand to foreign countries.
▶Usuyama I have come back to the West Japan
Office as Executive Officer, where I used towork as a staff member 21 years ago. Backthen, I worked with Director General Suzuki
and we worked very hard.
▶Suzuki We had a strict mentor, didn’t we?
(Laughter)▶Usuyama I have been visiting as many companies, financial institutions, and economic organizations as possible since I was assigned andhave gathered their opinions, including various
management problems and their needs for
JBIC. Japanese mid-tier enterprises and SMEs
expressed their needs of investment information on emerging countries, which have grownmuch more diverse over the last 21 years. At
the same time, I found out that many mid-tierenterprises and SMEs face the same businesschallenges, such as how to cope with the major
structural changes of the global market andtheir business succession in Japan. I wish to help
them to address such business challenges not
only by providing our financial support, but also
by making the best use of our information,knowledge and overseas networks. I am determined to tackle such business challenges with
mid-tier enterprises and SMEs and grow handin hand with them.
▶Suzuki I have also been very busy visiting
mid-tier enterprises and SMEs across Japan
since I was assigned. I even visited their overseas offices in countries where many of them
have already started business, such as Thailand

and Indonesia. Besides being very energetic,
many mid-tier enterprise and SME owners
have their own unique philosophies. I foundthere is much to learn by visiting those businessowners and talking directly with them. Someten years ago, I worked in the West Japan
Office and helped mid-tier enterprises and
SMEs to expand their business overseas. Since
those days, I feel that, regardless of businessarea or enterprise size, more Japanese companies have been continuing to shift their focus toexpanding business overseas because of theircorporate strategies aimed at benefitting fromthe growth of emerging countries.
▶Usuyama One of JBIC's strengths is theability to support mid-tier enterprises and
SMEs in entering into overseas markets byoffering long-term foreign currency denominated loans. Especially in recent years, there
has been increasing demand for borrowings inlocal currencies, such as Thai baht and Indianrupee in addition to the U.S. dollar and euro.
Under such circumstances, we have gradually
been increasing our experience in providing
financing in local currencies. On the other
hand, some mid-tier enterprises and SMEs are
not yet aware that they can utilize our financial
support. One of our challenges is to make
JBIC’s presence and financing support services
widely known among those mid-tier enterprises and SMEs.
▶Suzuki I totally agree with you on thatpoint. I would like to identify the potential

needs of mid-tier enterprises and SMEs
through our efforts to improve their awareness of JBIC’s financial products and services,while strengthening cooperation with regional
financial institutions which have establishedclose relations with them. At the same time, I
strongly feel we need to actively communicate
JBIC’s support for mid-tier enterprises and
SMEs to the public by obtaining their understanding of our public relations (PR) activity.
This PR activity will not only help to make
JBIC’s financial support for mid-tierenterprises and SMEs more widely known tothe public, but also to show more people
about how vigorous mid-tier enterprises and
SMEs are in foraying into overseas markets.
▶Usuyama In the West Japan Office, I will
make various efforts to support Japanese midtier enterprises and SMEs in starting their business overseas by capitalizing on our flexibility inmeeting their wide range of financing needs. I
would like to provide our financing support in amore creative and innovative way, such as bydeveloping new financing schemes where
necessary to proactively address their financing
needs or providing business matching services.
If those efforts are implemented, I will give
feedback of the results to the Head Office.
▶Usuyama and Suzuki We, in collaboration
with regional financial institutions, will makeour best efforts to support Japanese mid-tierenterprises and SMEs in expanding their business overseas with a sense of security.

Press and External Affairs Division, Corporate Planning Department, Corporate Group, Japan Bank for International Cooperation

Hidetou Usuyama

4-1, Ohtemachi, 1-chome Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8144, Japan Tel. +81-3-5218-3100 URL: http://www.jbic.go.jp/en/

Industry Finance Group
Executive Officer for West Japan

Special Issue

Aiming to provide JBIC’s unique support toJapanese mid-tier enterprises and SMEs withplans to expand business overseas

O u r G lo b a l Ch a lle n g e sSpecial Issue

Supporting theOverseas Expansion ofJapanese Mid-tierEnterprises and SMEs

JBIC’s Financial Support for Japanese Mid-tierEnterprises and SMEs with Diverse Financing Needs
JBIC’s financial support schemes for Japanese mid-tier

Promoting alliance between local financial institutions inenterprises and SMEs

developing countries and Japanese regional financial institutions

JBIC offers the following financial support schemes to respond to the diverse financing
needs of Japanese mid-tier enterprises and small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by strengthening the alliance withJapanese private-sector financial institutions and local banks in countries orregions where those Japanese companies plan to start a business.

Basic Financing Scheme
Overseas projectOverseas subsidiary

Investment, capital increase,loan from a parent company

Parent company(in Japan)

Domestic financing
Direct financing (in USD, JPY, EUR, or other currencies)

Two-step Financing Scheme

Two-step Financing Scheme(through a Japanese financial institution)(through a leasing company)

Overseas projectOverseas projectOverseas subsidiary

Overseas subsidiary

Directfinancing

Japanese financial
institution
Domestic
financing

Parentcompany(in Japan)

02.

Establishing Japan Desk andorganizing follow-up seminars

Providing overseas
investment information

JBIC signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for business cooperation
with local banks in the countries of Asia as well as local banks and state
governments of Mexico with an aim to establishing a specialized contact point
for Japanese enterprises (“Japan Desk”) in those local banks which provides awide range of financial products, services and consultancy for Japanese mid-tierenterprises and SMEs when they arrange financing outside Japan.
Under the MOUs, those local banks and state governments have established andexpanded their Japan Desks to assist Japanese overseas subsidiaries incoordinating financing for their business by providing them with financial
services such as account opening, foreign exchange and remittance transactions.
This has eventually resulted in creating new business between those local
banks and Japanese overseas subsidiaries.
In addition, JBIC organizes follow-up seminars on a regular basis inviting staff
members from Japanese regional financial institutions and the Japan Desks offoreign local banks, which have signed MOUs with JBIC for businesscooperation. The purpose of these follow-up seminars is to deepen mutual
understanding of business partnership between those local banks and Japaneseregional financial institutions through the discussions of issues and challenges
faced by the Japan Desks of those local banks, including the dispatch oftrainees, and the shape of their business alliance.

JBIC provides Japanese mid-tier enterprises and SMEs with overseas
investment information, such as by organizing consultation sessions andinvestment seminars across Japan.

Overseas investment seminars
JBIC holds overseas investment seminars across Japan to provide
information about the current state of overseas expansion by Japanesecompanies which is gathered through the JBIC’s survey on overseas
investments by Japanese companies
JBIC also organizes investment seminars focusing on investments inpromising emerging countries such as India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam andThailand.

Advisory services on overseas investments
JBIC provides advisory services to projects which JBIC has financed byexternal professionals at the early stage of the project development process,covering the following fields, in the following countries or regions:
Advisory fields: (1) Taxation and accounting, (2) Law
Countries or regions: (1) China, (2) India, (3) 10 ASEAN countries*

Recent follow-up seminars
Second follow-up meeting and seminar with Kasikornbank (May 2016 in Tokyo)
Second follow-up meeting and seminar with Metropolitan Bank
(July 2016 in Tokyo and Osaka)First follow-up meeting and seminar with Mexican state governments and bank
(November 2016 in Tokyo and Osaka)First follow-up meeting and seminar with BDO Unibank (February 2017 in Manila)(*Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos,
Cambodia), (4) North America, Latin America, the Middle East

Financelease

Leasing company
Domestic
financing(local corporation)

Directfinancing
Japanese financial
institution

Second follow-up meeting andseminar with Metropolitan Bank
(July 2016 in Tokyo)

General contacts

First follow-up meeting andseminar with BDO Unibank(February 2017 in Manila)

Japan Bank forInternational Cooperation(JBIC)

East Japan: Head Office, Finance Division for SMEs of East Japan
4-1 Ohtemachi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8144, Japan Tel: 03-5218-3579

West Japan: West Japan Office, Finance Division for SMEs of West Japan
10th floor, Umeshin Daiichi Seimei Building, 3-5 Sonezaki 2-chome, Kita-ku,
Osaka-city, Osaka 530-0057, Japan Tel: 06-6311-2520

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

2

Japanese financial
institution

01.

3Map of Japanese Mid-tier Enterprises
and SMEs with JBIC Financing

Note: Description of each deal (from left to right): location of the headquarters; company name; country of destination; and products/business.

Fukushima

Asahi Tsushin Co., Ltd.

Indonesia

Wire harnesses

Yamagata

Goto Denshi Co., Ltd.

The Philippines

Electronic parts

P6-7

Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Unika Holdings Co., Ltd.
Kanazawa City,
Ishikawa Prefecture

Ogaki City,
Gifu Prefecture

P8-9

Sabae City,
Fukui Prefecture

P12-13Development and operation of an industrial parkwith a management team in Vietnam

P18-19

Tamada Industries, Inc.

SUZUKI EIKODO CO., LTD.

CHARMANT INC.

Manufacturing and sales ofunderground tanks for oil reserve in Vietnam

Manufacturing and sales ofJapanese candies in Vietnam

Manufacturing and sales of eyeglass frames
and sunglasses in China and other countries

Aichi
Fukuyama City,
Hiroshima Prefecture

Kure City,
Hiroshima Prefecture

P10-11

Benda Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Manufacturing and sales ofdenim fabrics in Thailand

Manufacturing and sales ofmetal rings for automobile parts in Thailand

Ishikawa

Gifu

Nagoyashokuryo Co., Ltd.

ThailandRice products

Tamada Industries, Inc.

VietnamUnderground petroleum
storage tanks

Higuchi Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

MexicoAuto parts

Marugo Rubber Industries, Ltd.

Indonesia

Auto rubber parts

Uchiyama Manufacturing Corp.

Vietnam

Auto parts

KAIHARA CORPORATION

Thailand

Denim fabric

Bankoku Needle Mfg. Co., Ltd.

ThailandNeedles for handicrafts, etc.

Benda Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Thailand

Auto parts

Haso Ltd.

Farmdo Corp.
Solar power generation businessin Mongolia

TohokuregionSUZUKI EIKODO CO., LTD.

VietnamCandiesFacelabo Co., Ltd.

Thailand

Health food and supplements

ToyamaATSUMI FASHION CO., LTD.

Myanmar

Clothing

Hayashi Techno Co., Ltd.

China

Plastic magnets

KOYAMA Co., Ltd.

ThailandCastings

JAPAN A.M.C. LTD

ThailandFittings for construction
machinery and automobiles

Saitama

CHARMANT INC.

China and others

Eyeglass frames

Kanagawa SUN ACE CORPORATION

Fukui

P26-27

Production and sales ofhygiene and cleaning products in China

Shizuoka

NaganoHiroshima

China

P20-21

KAIHARA CORPORATION

OkayamaRefrigerating, processing andsales of nori

Yamako Co., Ltd.

Maebashi City,
Gunma Prefecture

P14-15

Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo

Tokyo

Credit line for THE SHIZUOKA BANK, LTD.

Gunma

Credit line for The Hachijuni Bank, Ltd.

Lacto Japan Co., Ltd.

ThailandDairy products (*processing and sales business)

Haso Ltd.

China

Hygiene and cleaning products

Toyota Kohki Co., Ltd.

India

Moulds for precast concrete products

Nakagawa Mfg. CO., LTD.

VietnamLabelsBrazil

Polyvinyl Chloride Stabilizer

Toei Chemical Industry co., ltd

The Philippines

Industrial rubber products

SUN ENGINEERING Co., Ltd

ThailandMechanical equipment (assembly and installation)

Credit line for The Joyo Bank, Ltd.

Credit line for The Hokuriku Bank, Ltd

Credit line for The Chiba Bank, Ltd.

Chubu
regionCredit line for The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd.
Credit line for The Chugoku Bank, LTD.

Credit line for The Bank of Yokohama, Ltd.

Kanto
regionOsaka City, Osaka

Tokushima

MARUHISA Japan CO., LTD

Bangladesh

Clothing

Ehime

SAKURAI CO., LTD.

Vietnam

Clothing

Saraya Co., Ltd.

ChugokuregionCredit line for The Hyakujushi Bank, Ltd

Production and sales ofsanitation and healthcare products in Thailand

KansairegionShikokuregionOsaka

Takeo City,
Saga Prefecture

MiyazakiNichiwa Co., Ltd.

China

Auto parts

Saga

Fuji Concrete Industry Co., Ltd.

India

Concrete productsP22-23

Fuchu City, TokyoP22-23

Saraya Co., Ltd.

ThailandMARUYONE CO., LTD.

The Philippines Fishing tackles

Health and sanitation products

TAIKI Corporation, Ltd.

Cambodia

Cosmetics related products

Nagaoka Co., Ltd.

China

Fragrances and food flavors

Tiger Corporation.

VietnamStainless bottles

Kyoto

NAXIS CO., LTD.

VietnamSecondary materials for apparels

Fuji Concrete Industry Co., Ltd.

Toyota Kohki Co., Ltd.

ShigaGOHSYU CORPORATION

MexicoForged auto parts

Manufacturing and sales ofconcrete products in India

Manufacturing and sales ofconcrete products in IndiaNara

GMB CORPORATION

China

Auto parts and components

BOLTZ Co., Ltd

Indonesia

Automobile and motorcycle fastenings

Hyogo

Mie

DAI-ICHI DENSHI SANGYO CO., LTD.

Laos

Various electronic parts

Yamamori Inc.

ThailandSoy sauce (brewing and sales)

Topia CO., LTD.

China

Auto parts

Credit line for The Senshu Ikeda Bank, Ltd.
Credit line for THE SHIGA BANK, LTD.

Osaka City, Osaka

P24-25

Osaka Sealing Printing Co., Ltd.
Production and sales ofadhesive labels in Thailand

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

4

KyushuregionP16-17

5

Relationship with JBIC

Our Global C hallenges

In August 2014, JBIC signed a loan agreement totaling up to 1.4 million U.S.
dollars (JBIC portion) with VIETNAM JAPAN TECHNOLOGY PARK COMPANY
LIMITED (VIE-PAN), a Vietnamese subsidiary of Unika Holdings Co., Ltd. The
loan is cofinanced with Seibu Shinkin Bank, bringing the overall cofinancing
amount to 2.008 million U.S. dollars. This loan is intended to finance
VIE-PAN’s construction and operation of the industrial park mainly for Japanese mid-tier and medium- and small-sized companies in Ho Chi Minh City.

Unika Holdings Co., Ltd.
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Name
Established
CapitalPresident
Business lines

Headquarters

Unika Holdings Co., Ltd.
November 1965
(Reincorporated April 1, 2011 as the holding company ofUnika Holdings Co., Ltd.)
72 million yen
Yoshinori Yasumi, President & CEO
Providing business strategy, management, incidental and related
operations, and special services to each of the group companies that
manufacture and sell various state-of-the-art tools including concrete drills
and core drills as well as construction fastening materials such as anchors
2-10-6 Iwamoto-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0032, Japan

Yoshinori Yasumi
President & CEO

Unika Holdings Co., Ltd.

Products of Unika HD
Unika HD’s shaving collection drill system “Q Bit UX” powerfully gathers
concrete shavings during drilling and prevents scattering. This new
product eliminates the problems caused by shavings in traditional drilling
and results in a clean, good working environment.

Industrial development in Ho Chi Minh City by leveraging the expertise ofJapanese SMEs

Supporting the overseas expansionof Japanese SMEs through theoperation of an industrial park

Supporting the growth of Vietnam by operating and managing an industrial park
Unika Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereafter “Unika HD”) is a medium-sized company with Unika Company Limited as
its subsidiary engaged in the manufacture and sale of concrete drills, core drills and other cutting tools andconstruction fastening materials. The company has been doing business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam since1996 through its local subsidiary, and it operates and manages an industrial park for Japanese mid-tierenterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) entering Vietnam. Unika HD’s business was
highly evaluated, and so it was asked in 2013 by the city to help Japanese SMEs develop supporting
industries in Vietnam.

Since its foundation in 1965, Unika HD
has been producing and supplying indispensable tools for improving social infrastructure such as construction, civil engineering, electric, water service, and information technology. The market share of its
concrete drills, one of its main products, issteadily growing. Recalling the company’s
half-century history, President Yasumi
commented, “We have survived the competition by building nationwide sales channels
that can immediately respond to market
needs, pursuing quality and a good working
environment for people involved in construction, and focusing on research anddevelopment of innovative products likediamond tools and hard metal tools.
Through such efforts, we have gained asolid reputation as a manufacturer specializing in advanced tools.”
Unika HD has been actively expanding
such manufacturing business, and entered
China in 1995, Vietnam in 1997, andIndia in 2013.

Contributing to the industrial
development project of
Ho Chi Minh City
In 2013, the project got a kick-start. Ho
Chi Minh City appreciated how Unika hadsmoothly run the industrial park over theyears, and so asked it to help support thedevelopment of Vietnamese industry.
The city has been actively building
export processing zones and industrial parks
to strengthen its export competitiveness.
Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park (site area of
2,000 ha) is the largest among them, and iswhere Ho Chi Minh City decided to construct an industrialpark exclusively for SMEs
and appointed Unika HD as the Japanese
partner. In response, Unika HD set up a
joint company with a company affiliated with

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee tomanage the Vie-Pan Techno Park. In October 2014, a rental plant was completed in a
13 ha premise, and Japanese companies
started moving in from the following month.
“Our local joint company had to procure capital for the construction and management of the industrial park because Ho
Chi Minh City is taking the initiative in thisproject, so we asked JBIC for financing. We
were highly satisfied with the business with
JBIC, because the loanterms were favorable
and the enormous amount of paperwork for
local procurement went very smoothly. In
Vietnam, infrastructure development isstarting to take off and this will boost theeconomy. Japanese SMEs will continue toexpand in Vietnam, and we wish to contribute to Vietnam’s nation-building throughthis project.”19 years ago, Unika HD started thisproject with the aim of helping JapaneseSMEs do business easily in Vietnam. That
effort is now contributing to the development of supporting industries in Vietnam.

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

6

Growing as a manufacturer
specializing in state-of-the-art tools
for half a century

Unika HD has an original approach in its
overseas business, as evidenced by the industrial park in Ho Chi Minh City that started in
1996. Specifically, the company takes care ofhuman resource management, accounting,general affairs, logistics, material arrangements and general administration on behalf ofJapanese mid-tier companies and SMEs thatstarted doing business in the city.
The most serious issue for the companies
when expanding abroad for the first time is thecost, labor and time for start-up. A rental
factory with managerial staff allows a company
to easily secure a plant and office and start
production and sales locally. Because Japaneseor Japanese-speaking local managers handle
daily management work, the company does
not need to employ managers of their own.
“Because operations at our China plant
went smoothly, we started to support Japanese mid-tier companies and SMEs wishingto enter Vietnam, using our accumulated
experience and know-how. This project is

not only a profit-making business but also
one of our social contribution projects.
Profit should not be the sole purpose of acompany. As long as we are part of society,we must contribute to society together anddo business for the benefit of society too.
The same is true even in other countries.”

7

Relationship with JBIC

Our Global C hallenges

JBIC signed a loan agreement totaling USD6.3 million (JBIC portion) with
Tamada Industries, Inc. The loan is cofinanced with the Bank ofTokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. and The Hokkoku Bank, Ltd., with the overall
cofinancing amount reaching the equivalent of USD9 million. The loan will
finance the funds that Tamada Industries needs for TAMADA VIETNAMCOMPANY LIMITED, which is Tamada Industries’ wholly-owned
subsidiary, to manufacture and sell underground petroleum storage tanks,
as well as other tanks and tank-related products.

Tamada Industries, Inc.
Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Tamada Industries’
S&F Double-wall
Tank
Tamada Industries has thelargest share in the S&F
Double-wall Tank market
in Japan and has installed
22,000 units in total (as of
September 2014).
Equipped with a leakmonitor, corrosion of thesteel layer is detected
before it causes soil contamination. Thanks totheir excellent safety andr e l i a b i l i t y , T a m a d a ’s
earthquake-resistantwater tanks for firefighting are being used tostore contaminated waterat the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Station.

Yoshiaki Tamada
Representative Director and President
Tamada Industries, Inc.

Name
Established
Incorporated
CapitalPresident
Business lines
Headquarters
PlantsTamada Industries, Inc.
April 1, 1950
July 3, 1957
52.5 million yen
Yoshiaki Tamada, Representative Director and President
Design and construction of various underground tanks and water
storage tanks for firefighting, and design and construction of gas
stations
Ha 61-1 Muryojimachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture 920-0332, Japan
Headquarters, Hokuriku plant, Kanto plant, Kyushu plant,
Vietnam plant

Completion ceremony in Vietnam

Distributing the technology of the leading company in underground tank market
From Kanazawa to Asia:
Tamada Industries, Inc. specializes in the manufacture and sale of various types of underground tanks.
In particular, it is the leading company in the market for underground steel and S&F Double-wall Tank for gas
stations, with a 75% share of the Japanese market.
Since its establishment in 1950, Tamada Industries has been growing in the market by executing an
aggressive business strategy to keep a step ahead in the industry.
It is now actively expanding its overseas business as the second wave in its 65-year history.
On April 24, 2015, a new plant in Vietnam was completed as the base for overseas expansion.

Supporting the company’s growththrough execution of
aggressive business strategy

manufacturing knowhow, he bet the company and started developing the product.
Finally, the company succeeded in developing the S&F Double-wall Tank after
much trial and error. Applying the technology used in the S&F Double-wall Tank
as the basis, Tamada Industry developed
and launched earthquake-resistant andfire-fighting water tanks in 1995, underground storage tanks in 2005, and thewater circulating storage tank “Aqua in
PIT” in 2009. These innovative products
gave the company a firm competitive position as a specialist manufacturer of underground tanks.
“As the third president, I wanted toinnovate at the earliest opportunity. The

First wave of going global
President Tamada made full use ofmanagerial skills to expand the businessoverseas. He started transferring technology licensing to Thailand, Malaysia andChina in 1998, and formed a joint venture
in China in 2010.
However, overseas development did not
go smoothly. “Because technology licensing
is a five-year contract, nothing is left once
the technology is transferred. We knew thiswhen we started the joint venture in China,
but we disbanded it because the Chinese
government introduced a policy which madeit hard to expand the S&F Double-wall Tank
market in China.”
To overcome the impasse, the company
decided to expand in Vietnam next. It cooperated on the provision of technology toVietnam’s largest oil distributor to manufacture and bury S&F Double-wall Tank
through the Japanese government’s official
development assistance (ODA) program
starting in 2013. In carrying out the pro-gram, President Tamada perceived thepotential of the business in Vietnam andestablished a wholly-owned subsidiary“TAMADA VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED” in February 2014.Note The company
started to construct a new plant on theoutskirts of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
“We had two major objectives in expanding in Vietnam. One was to manufacture outsourced parts of the earthquakeresistant water storage tank, which will bea mainstay of our future business, in houseand then export those internallymanufactured parts to Japan. The otherwas to manufacture tanks and metal parts,and sell them to Japanese companies expanding into Southeast Asia.

New progress withthe second wave
President Tamada is looking further
ahead: “Japanese companies are constructing
oil refineries in Vietnam and are expected tomove into retailing. Business opportunities
will increase greatly when these companies
start putting their plans into practice, and it
will be too late to start once the trend
becomes visible. Because the demand forour products is not expected to grow in theJapanese market with its falling population,
we judged that it was the time to invest forthe medium to long term and so we madethe investment.”
The expansion to Vietnam is the second
wave of Tamada Industries. “If we had notdone what we did 22 years ago, our company would no longer exist. Likewise, if we
do not make a move now, we cannot expect
growth 10 years later. Although expansion
requires a huge investment, we feel secure
because we were able to borrow a long-termloan under favorable conditions from JBIC
when we needed it.”
The new plant was completed on April
24, 2015. Tamada Industries is aiming forannual sales of 300 million yen in the firstyear, rising to 0.8 to 1 billion yen in five
years. “Medium-sized companies must notl ose their focus. In pa rticul a r , slow
decision-making means losing the competition in today’s highly competitive age,” said
President Tamada. He is looking forward to
making further progress with his quick decision making and execution.
Note:
Because Tamada Industries accepted a capital increase from THE
KAWATEX CO., LTD. in March 2015, currently Tamada Industries
owns 70% and Kawatex owns 30%.

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

8

According to President Tamada, “We
are the leading manufacturer in the nichemarket of S&F Double-wall Tank, with a
75% share in terms of sales.”President Tamada’s ability to execute anaggressive business strategy is the driving
force behind the company’s growth. Sincebeing appointed as the third president in1991 at the age of 43, he has been leading
the company with quick decision-making andexecution. To boost sales, he set up a sales
office in Tokyo and expanded the sales areafrom three prefectures in the Hokuriku

region to the entire nation in 1993. Building
on its technical skills, the company successfully developed the S&F Double-wall Tank
in 1994. He made a massive investment inequipment, started shipping products nationwide, and acquired the largest share of thedomestic market within a few years.
The S&F Double-wall Tank, Tamada’s
leading product, uses steel sheet for the
inner wall and fiber-reinforced plastic(FRP) for the outer wall. The amendmentof the Fire Services Act in 1993 permitted
the manufacture of light and durable S&F
Double-wall Tank instead of the traditional
steel tank. President Tamada immediately
flew to the US to study manufacturingmethods, and after returning to Japan withseries of bold moves I took immediately
after becoming president greatly helped todevelop the company.”9Relationship with JBIC

Our Global C hallenges

JBIC signed a loan agreement totaling up to 37 million US dollars (JBIC
portion) with KAIHARA CORPORATION (KAIHARA) in September 2014. The
loan is cofinanced with The Hiroshima Bank Ltd., The Bank of TokyoMitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. and The Shoko Chukin Bank, Ltd., bringing the overall
cofinancing amount to 58 million US dollars. JBIC signed another loan agreement totaling up to 28.9 million US dollars (JBIC portion) with KAIHARA in
September 2015. These loan agreements are intended to finance the establishment of KAIHARA (THAILAND) CO., LTD., a Thai subsidiary of Kaihara, andits denim manufacturing and sales business. The loan will support the overseas expansion of KAIHARA and thereby contribute to maintaining andstrengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industry.

KAIHARA CORPORATION
Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture

Junji Kaihara
Vice Chairman
Kaihara has a wellestablished production
system that spans theentire process from spinning of raw cotton todyeing, weaving of fabrics and processing. The
high quality of Kaihara
products is praised as“Kaihara Quality,” andKaihara has more than a
50% share of the domestic blue denim
market and also boasts
the top share in exportsof blue denim.

KAIHARA CORPORATION

Name
Established
Incorporated
CapitalPresident
Business lines
Headquarters
Network

KAIHARA CORPORATION
1893
March, 1951
151 million yen
Mamoru Kaihara, President
Integrated production (spinning, dying, weaving, processing) and sales of denim
1450 Tsune, Shinichi-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture 729-3107, Japan
Head Office, Shin-Ichi Mill, Kisa Mill (Miyoshi City, Hiroshima),
Joge Mill (Fuchu City, Hiroshima), Sanwa Mill (Jinseki-gun, Hiroshima),
Thailand Mill (Ratchaburi Province, Thailand)

The new plant in Ratchaburi Province, whichlies 90 km west of Bangkok, has a site area of
140,000 m2 and a building area of 36,530 m2.
The weaving mill and product warehouse
have been operating since November 2015,
and a dye works is under construction.

Leaving t he world-renowned “Kai hara Quality” to t he next generation
Establishing a production base in Thailand for the expanding denim market
Established in 1893, KAIHARA CORPORATION (hereafter “Kaihara”) is Japan’s largest denim fabricmanufacturer, supplying high-quality denim fabrics to apparel manufacturers, both at home and abroad,including EDWIN, Levi’s, UNIQLO and GAP. Kaihara’s dominant presence in the market owes to its
well-established integrated production system that spans the entire process from spinning of raw cotton todyeing, weaving of fabrics and processing. In particular, the indigo-dyeing technology that has beendeveloped since its foundation is highly praised. In March 2014, it established its first overseas operationbase in Thailand in anticipation of steady growth of the denim market worldwide, especially in emerging
countries, on the back of economic and population growth. Since then, Kaihara has worked hard to increase
its market share by leveraging its competitiveness realized by local production.

Investing in the next stage toprepare for the changing
business environment

long-standing community-based policy.” Its
decision to invest about 10 billion yen tobuild a manufacturing plant in Thailand wasa bet-the-company project, as sales for theyear ending February 2015 were just 16.7
billion yen.
Changes in market structure and customers were the reasons behind this major decision. Japan has had a continuing trend of lowbirthrate and long lifespan, and the number ofyouths who are the main purchasers of denim
products has been decreasing. Furthermore,though the biggest customer segment wasapparel makers specializing in jeans, specialty

Demonstrating the value of theJapanese way of manufacturingin the new environment
After Kaihara made the decision to
expand overseas, it inspected several can-didate sites including Thailand, Indonesia,
China, and Vietnam, while also considering using a financing system that supports
the overseas development of companies
offered by their existing banks. “In thecourse of discussions on utilizing a financing system, we learned that JBIC helps
mid-tier enterprises and SMEs to expand
overseas, and so we decided to use theirfinancing system. We are very grateful to
JBIC for their financial support, andwould appreciate their advice in the
future when problems arise during operations in Thailand.”Kaihara had no experience of overseas
production because it had been doing business and developing technologies in its local
production area of woven products for 120
years since its foundation. Vice Chairman
Kaihara commented: “Bingo Kasuri used to
be woven inside the household, and thisskill has been passed down from generation
to g eneration without interruption.
Whether or not we can make this kind ofskill effective in areas outside the production origin depends entirely on our efforts.”
The greatest challenge they face is repro-

ducing the Kaihara Quality and developing
skilled human resources to produce thesame quality overseas. As part of theireffort to achieve this, they invited 15
locally hired employees to Japan in November 2014 for a six-month training programat the production site.
The new plant in Thailand was completed in April 2015, the opening ceremony was held on October 11, and production started in November. Kaihara isinitially dispatching 20 or so employees
from Japan for about 200 locally hired
employees, but plans to station about fiveor six Japanese employees for mentorshipin the long term. Mr. Kaihara said, “We
urged Thai employees to take the initiative after the opening ceremony. We may
face many difficulties, including thelanguage barrier, but we are determined
to overcome them for the growth of ourcompany.” Kaihara has taken a bold step
to demonstrate the value of the Japanese
way of manufacturing.
Note:
SPA is the abbreviation of “speciality store retailer of private label
apparel”, and indicates an apparel maker of casual clothes.

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

10

Kaihara has more than a 50% share of thedomestic blue denim market and also boasts
the top share in exports of blue denim. Its
denim products, highly praised as “Kaihara
Quality”, have garnered global credibility for
their “Made in Japan” quality.
Vice Chairman Mr. Kaihara explained
his passion and community-rooted attitude
to manufacturing: “The indigo dyeing technology has been inherited from generation to

generation in the Bicchu and Bingo districts(currently in Okayama Prefecture). It used
to be pure craftsmanship. We mechanized
this traditional craftsmanship and applied it
to denim manufacturing, making the newcraftsmanship our core technology. Our
integrated manufacturing system based on
this core technology has become our greatest
asset and advantage.”Kaihara has long stood by integrated
domestic manufacturing despite the globalization of production. Kaihara’s decision to
expand overseas was therefore “a major
step because it required a change from its

store retailers of private label apparel(SPA) N o t e became its main customers as
women started to wear jeans more frequently
around 2000. SPAs then started to expand
overseas, and this required Kaihara to build afactory near the point of consumption.
“There are three major reasons forgoing overseas: local procurement of raw
cotton, inexpensive infrastructure and large
markets. We decided to build a plant inThailand in anticipation of market expansion. In addition to the 600 million people
in the ASEAN market, the scheduled inauguration of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was a major factor. Moreover,Australia will enter the market when theTrans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) comes into
effect. All these factors will make Thailand
even more promising as a center of commercial distribution.

11

Our Global C hallenges

Relationship with JBICSUZUKI EIKODO CO., LTD.

In February 2015, JBIC signed a loan agreement totaling up to
USD1.75 million (JBIC portion) with EIKODO VIETNAM CO., LTD.
(EKD), a Vietnamese subsidiary of SUZUKI EIKODO CO., LTD. The loan
is cofinanced with The Juroku Bank, Ltd., THE OGAKI KYORITSU
BANK, LTD., THE SHIGA BANK, LTD. and other financial institutions.
It is intended to finance EKD for the business of manufacturing andselling candies.

Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture

Name
Established
Incorporated
CapitalPresident
Business lines
Headquarters
PlantsSUZUKI EIKODO CO., LTD.
1877
1933
50 million yen
Yuzuru Suzuki
Manufacturing, confectionery wholesaling, toy imports
50 Tawara-machi, Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture 503-0876, Japan
No. 2 plant, Yoro distribution center, Tokyo office,Iga plant, Vietnam plantcompanies we purchased into our group to
grow together. Overseas, however, the‘Cool Japan’ boom in emerging countries
with their growing populations offers a big
opportunity for Japanese companies. As a
Japanese confectionery manufacturer, weplan to be among the first to expand overseas and capture a substantial market
share,” said President Suzuki.
In line with its strategy, Suzuki Eikodo
established EIKODO VIETNAM CO., LTD.
(EKD) as its candy production and sales basein Vietnam. “As the successor of the familybusiness, my mission is to keep growing the
manufacturing business, which is our main
business. In order to do this, I selected Vietnam to acquire the largest share in the nichemarket of candies. Although Thailand andIndonesia are also promising, we have little
chance of competing successfully in those
two countries against major companies. In
Vietnam, confectionery shipments are estimated at 70 billion yen, of which candies
account for about 700 million yen. The shipments are much smaller than those in Japan,
but we have high expectations for the Vietnamese market because of the greaternumber of children.”In expanding to Vietnam, Suzuki Eikodo
used JBIC’s scheme for financing the manufacturing and sales business of EKD.
“Because we are not allowed to purchaseland in Vietnam, we used a 50-year lease contract. However, leased property cannot be
used as collateral, which makes it very hard toborrow money in Vietnam. But JBIC’s financing system enabled us to collect funds without
any difficulty. Without it, our business expansion would have been much slower.
“On November 4, 2015, the company
held the opening ceremony of the Eikodo
Vietnam Plant, and began shipping products
at the end of December. It first sold the
products to independent grocery stores andin the wholesale market in Vietnam, andthen began selling to Japanese-affiliatedsupermarkets and convenience stores fromMarch 2016. “We want to provide safe
Japanese confectionery worldwide – safety
and quality first, cost second,” said President Suzuki. Today, too, their candies aredelivered from the new plant, with the
dedication of a long-established company.

Yuzuru Suzuki
President

SUZUKI EIKODO CO., LTD.

Focusing on candies, chocolates, and jellies (right photo)as its main products, Suzuki
Eikodo captured the highest
share in the market of products
for amusement facilities andparks. Even in terms of exports
to the world market where
Japanese sweets are becoming
increasingly popular, the company is the industry leader. It is
now expanding private-label
products for convenience storesand 100-yen shops.

Opening ceremony of the Vietnamese plant

Providing safe Japanese confectioneries worldwide
Launching candy manufacturing and sales in Vietnam with the dedication ofa long-established company
Founded in 1877, SUZUKI EIKODO CO., LTD. (hereafter “Suzuki Eikodo”) is a longestablished small andmedium-sized enterprise (SME) well known for “ZELIKO”, a box of candies with a prize inside. The company
focuses on the wholesaling of confectioneries (candy, chocolate, jelly, etc.), while also designing products,
manufacturing and taking orders as an OEM under license from major confectionery makers. It is the leading
manufacturer of products designed for amusement facilities and parks, including prizes for arcade games.
As it approaches its 140th anniversary next year, Suzuki Eikodo is actively carrying out a growth strategy
based on the promotion of M&A in Japan as well as strengthening its business overseas. The company was
the first Japanese confectionery manufacturer to expand into Vietnam in December 2014, making the firstmove to stay ahead of the game.

Three challenges ofa small company

seas subsidiary in China in 2011, and started
exporting and selling Japanese confectioneryat Japanese-affiliated convenience chain storesin Shanghai. “Japanese confectionery became
an explosive hit thanks to the weak Japaneseyen, booming popularity for Japanese products in the Chinese market, and the burgeoning middle class. Our company became thelargest exporter of Japanese confectionery,and our annual sales reached 2.5 billion yen
within five years,” said President Suzuki.
The third reform was strengthening thecompany’s manufacturing department. To

Bringing “Cool Japan” to theVietnamese confectionery market
The two mainstays of Suzuki Eikodo’s
growth strategy are M&A in Japan andstrengthening of its overseas business.
“M&A is the only way to grow in thedomestic market as demand is not expected
to increase. This is why we brought the

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

12“The castle town of Ogaki was famous
for manufacturing Japanese confectioneries,
and we too started out by making confectioneries. We began manufacturing caramels
in the 1910s, which was the only product wemade until 2002,” said President Suzuki,
looking back on the company’s long history
and tradition.
The candy manufacturer reached a turning point in 2002. After working for a trading

company for 12 years, President Suzuki joined
Suzuki Eikodo, which had, at the time, only
five employees and annual sales of 140 million
yen. He carried out three reforms – the firstwas to develop new products. He signed contracts with major amusement companies andstarted manufacturing confectionery for cranegame prizes in game arcades. The company
has since captured the biggest market share inthis field, and its annual sales have risen to thecurrent 3 billion yen.
The second reform was the overseas
expansion. Suzuki Eikodo established its over-reduce its dependence on the amusement business which was suffering due to the slow
growth of domestic economy, it improved andexpanded its private-label products for convenience stores and 100-yen shops. In 2008, thecompany acquired Eagle Confectionery Co.,
Ltd., a manufacturer of chocolates, jellies andcookies, and in 2015, Chambord Co., Ltd., along-established company manufacturing andselling baked confectionery, and organizedthem as affiliates. The manufacturing
department’s annual sales have now risen to 2
billion yen.
As a result of these three reforms, Suzuki
Eikodo’s annual sales have grown to 7.5
billion yen, making it the leading company in
two of its three business fields in Japan.

13

Our Global C hallenges

Relationship with JBICIn March 2016, JBIC signed a loan agreement amounting to USD3.5
million (JBIC portion) with HASO. The loan is cofinanced with THE
CHIBA BANK, LTD., with the overall cofinancing amount reaching
USD5 million. It is intended to finance HASO for expanding production
facilities of hygiene and cleaning products produced by its Chinese
subsidiary, HASO SANITARY MATERIALS (SUZHOU) CO., LTD. (HSM).
JBIC also signed in October 2014 a loan agreement amounting to
USD1.4 million (JBIC portion) with HASO for expanding HSM’s production facilities.

Haso Ltd.
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo

Kikuo Yamada
CEO

Haso Ltd.

Name
Established
CapitalCEO
Business lines
Headquarters
Factories

Haso Ltd.
2001
50 million yen
Kikuo Yamada
Manufacturing and sales of hygiene and cleaning products
2-19-3 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0031, Japan
Ishikawa factory (domestic),
China factory, Thai factory, and the U.S. factory (overseas)

Disposal diapers using revolutionary functional
materials created a sensation at exhibitions

Innovating hygiene products to bring more comfort to people across the world
Enhancing overseas production to compete with global peersby turning unique ideas into original products
Haso Ltd (hereafter “Haso”)., a Japanese small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), holds a number ofpatents for its key products such as handy wipers and wet tissues. With its advanced skills, it designs andmanufactures hygiene and cleaning products which are highly praised. Haso supplies its products to major
Japanese manufacturers, mass retailers, drug stores, and major overseas daily commodity makers as an
OEM (original equipment manufacturer). Also active in expanding overseas businesses, the company built
production and sales bases starting from China in 2001, then Thailand in 2012, and the U.S. in 2014. This year
(2016), Haso has launched a new epoch-making product using unique materials, while moving forward withenhancing its own brand, setting their goal to compete in the global market with their original products.

Expanding to the Chinese market
with high ambition

product, the “Handy Wiper” drew theattention of major companies both inJapan and overseas who successively
ordered for OEM supplies, so Haso
expanded its facilities to increase production. This is when Haso’s track record
suddenly began turning positive. After
Haso gained momentum when it codeveloped a product with a major Japanesemanufacturer, the company began producing toilet cleaners in Thailand in 2012,
then wet tissues in the U.S. in 2014.

Aiming for the global market
with unprecedented ideas andepoch-making products
Developing unique products – that iswhat Mr. Yamada wanted to do. “Until
now, we focused on creating products thatsatisfy customers by just adding a bit ofingenuity to existing products. But what I
really wanted to do was to develop products that we can sell under our own brand.
For the first time, we have the foundation
for developing and delivering products thatnever existed before.”
What the company developed was adisposable underwear-shaped diaper for
infants and the elderly using epoch-making functional materials. They have
revolutionized the conventional style ofdiapers – fashionably designed, thin andlight, comfortably fitting with excellent
elasticity, added with a pad which has
high absorbing and deodorizing functions.
The replaceable pad makes it highly economical and reduces waste, so the product has many advantages. They received agreat response at product exhibitions andare already attracting orders from major
Japanese drugstores as well as major
American retailers.
With the increasing population in
emerging countries and aging populationin developed countries, the diaper market
continues to expand across the world. On
the company’s future development, Mr.
Yamada says, “the global diaper market isworth 6 to 7 trillion yen. Our company
can target 100 to 200 billion yen. We will
make the new product at the China plant
whose facilities were expanded with theloan from JBIC, and we plan to eventually
expand to Thailand.”

Bringing Haso brand to the world
Fifteen years have passed since Haso
began its production in China. Mr. Yamada
reconfirmed the importance of being able
to procure funds for a company to growand pointed out that JBIC's loans havehelped raise their credibility. Mr. Yamadasays, "We have used JBIC’s loans twice for
expanding the production facilities of ourmain plant in China. Each loan improved
the recognition of Haso as ‘a company supported by JBIC.’"
Haso plans to enhance its own brand of
products within this year toward their big
goal. “We will always be the best in creating one new product after another. We
want to become a company that has vast
networks and supporters across the world,
however small we are. Our goal is toachieve a revenue of 15-20 billion yen with
15% profits in two years, and then compete in the global market.” Mr. Yamada
takes steps forward each day to turn his
dream into reality, envisioning the Haso
brand bringing joy and comfort to people
across the world.

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

14“I was seriously aiming to achieve anannual turnover of 500 billion yen and get
our shares to be listed. We didn’t have muchmoney but I had the confidence that we could
develop one new product after another.
” This is the big target with which Haso
Ltd.'s CEO, Mr. Yamada, started the business. But he says it was not easy to operate
his business in China, where he chose as thecompany's first production base. "Because
we didn't have any funds, we had to rent thefactory, and because we didn’t understandany Chinese, we constantly relied on interpreters. We could not pay our ingredientsuppliers on time as our deposits of proceeds
were delayed for the first two years or so. I
can't count how many times we were savedby the local Chinese people," Mr. Yamada
looks back with a smile.
It was not until 2005 that Haso reacheda turning point. The company’s patented

The company continued to grow, andfinally reached a revenue of 5.2 billion yen in2015. It expects to achieve 15 to 20 billion
in two years from now. Even with thisaccomplishment, Mr. Yamada is still girding
up his loins: “we only achieved our initial
goal and reached the stage when we canfinally begin what we originally wanted to
do. This is only the beginning.”

15

Relationship with JBIC

Our Global C hallenges

In July 2015, JBIC signed a loan agreement amounting to THB25 million
with Saraya MFG. (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (SMT), a Thai subsidiary of
Saraya. The loan is cofinanced with Mizuho Bank, Ltd., with the overall
cofinancing reaching THB40 million. It is intended to finance necessary
funds in local currency for SMT to expand production facilities ofhygiene products.

Saraya Co., Ltd.
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

Name
Established
CapitalPresident
Business lines

Yusuke Saraya
President

Starting from the symbolic“Yashinomi” series ofhousehold detergents
made from palm oil (leftphoto), SARAYA has
diversified into food andpublic sanitation, and into
products that contribute tosanitation, the environment, and health, such as
medical products.

Headquarters

Saraya Co., Ltd.

Factories

Saraya Co., Ltd.
1959
45 million yen
Yusuke Saraya
Development, manufacturing, and sales of health and sanitation
products and services
Consultation of food and environmental sanitation
Development, manufacturing and sales of food products
2-2-8 Yuzato, Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka City,
Osaka Prefecture 546-0013, Japan
Osaka and Iga (domestic); China, Thailand, U.S.,
Malaysia (overseas)

Thailand factory where the products arebeing produced.

Improving the sanitation, environment and health of the world throughenvironmentally conscious products
Making unique efforts in social action and environmental conservation initiatives
Founded in 1959, Saraya Co. Ltd. (hereafter “SARAYA”) is a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
engaged in the production and sales of sanitation products. Since its establishment, it has pursued productdevelopment and management that are grounded on environmentally conscious innovations, and has
evolved into a company which is committed to improving the sanitation, the environment and health acrossthe world. The company has actively expanded overseas with the concept of “connecting with the world
through the global supply chains.” Not only does it provide products and services across the globe, but
SARAYA also engages itself in unique commitment to the society, such as social action businesses aimed atraising sanitation awareness in developing countries, as well as environmental preservation activities in
Borneo Island to achieve harmony between the environment and industries.

Commitment to environmentallyconscious products

effect. So it is mild on skin, and the wastewater can be quickly biodegraded by microbes,
reducing the damage on the environment.”
The company’s environmental considerations also extend to the source of the ingredients themselves. The production of palm oil,
one of the product’s botanical ingredients,
continues to escalate due to the world’s growing demand for food. The response to thisdemand has led to disordered expansions ofplantations, cutting down the rainforests andaggravating various environmental and social
problems in regions including Borneo Island,

Connecting with the world throughthe global supply chains
The passion to connect with theworld through the supply chains can beseen in SARAYA’s active overseas businessexpansion. Since the establishment of its
U.S. sales office in 1995, as well as production bases in China, Thailand, and U.S. in
the 2000s, the global network of the
SARAYA Group has now expanded to 25
offices in 15 countries/regions across theworld (6 factories and 19 sales offices).
One of its commitments to the society is
the social action business aimed at improving
sanitation in developing countries. In
Uganda, for example, the company launched
the “Wash A Million Hands” project in 2010
to promote communities’ awareness forhand washing. Then in 2011, SARAYA
established a local subsidiary in Uganda withthe aim of improving the pour sanitation
environment of local medical facilities. In
2014, the company began the local manufacturing of alcohol hand disinfectants andstarted delivering the products to Kenya thefollowing year, in pursuit of a sustainablebusiness which addresses Africa’s social
issues, while creating local employment.
Besides Africa, SARAYA has also been
carrying out the “Happy Handwash Project” inCambodia since 2013, a social action business
which promotes education on proper handsanitation, as well as the use of antibacterial
liquid hand soap and alcohol hand disinfectant.

Increasing the production capacity
for improving the sanitation,
environment and health of the world
Demand for sanitation products suchas liquid soap, detergent, and hand disin-fectant has recently been soaring withthe economic growth of Thailand andsurrounding countries in Asia. SARAYA
responded to this demand by expanding
the facilities of its factory in Thailand, themain manufacturing base for detergent
products, and utilized the funds financed
by JBIC. Mr. Saraya expresses his praise
for JBIC, “we are grateful for being able toprocure the funds denominated and in local
currency mitigate currency risks,” andadded: “JBIC provides medium to longterm funds based on the Japanese government policy, without being affected by thechanging economic environment. In addition to its financial function, we would also
like to rely on JBIC as one of our vital
information sources for regions such as
Africa, where Japanese private banks have
not yet expanded to.”“Supplies from our factories in Japancannot catch up with the surging demand.
We would have to consider building a newfactory in a few years.” With commitment toimproving the sanitation, environment, andhealth of the world through its wide-ranging
products and services, SARAYA strides
forward with firm, unwavering steps.

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

16“Our business first started during a dysentery epidemic in post-war Japan when wecreated antibacterial liquid soap made frompalm oil and distributed it along with dispensers. The business field then diversified naturally into food and public sanitation, as well as
the environment and health,” Mr. Saraya, thepresident, looks back at his company’s growth.
As proven by the fact that the businessstarted with palm oil soap, SARAYA com-mits to “environmentally conscious products.” One such symbolic product is the “Yashinomi Detergent,” a botanical kitchen detergent launched in 1971. It was the first everbotanical detergent when water contamination by petroleum-based synthetic detergents
had been a growing social concern at thetime. It has been one of the longest selling
products, and has become SARAYA’s flagshipproduct. “The coconut and palm oil based
cleansing ingredients are purely botanical.
The detergent contains no added fragrance orcolors which are unrelated to its cleansing

Malaysia. Taking an initiative to “start withwhat we can do for a better environment,”
SARAYA began collaborating in 2004 with anumber of organizations to work on rainforest
restoration and biodiversity conservation in
the Sabah state of Borneo Island, which is oneof the source areas of the detergent’s ingredient, while inviting consumers to participate in
the “Borneo Explorers,” an initiative aimed atraising consumers’ environmental awareness.
As the motivation for his goal to achieve a
harmony between business and the environment, Mr. Saraya explains: “our company’s
supply chain system is connected across theworld, so I need to be responsible for all stepsof the supply chain process, from the backyard to our customers.”

17

Relationship with JBIC

Our Global C hallenges

Since 1993, when still known as the Export-Import Bank of Japan, JBIC
has supported CHARMANT INC. with the establishment of overseas
branches and enhancement of production facilities for overseas expansion. All of the financial support was cofinanced with regional banks in
the Hokuriku region, where CHARMANT headquarters is located.

CHARMANT INC.
Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture

Name
Established
CapitalRepresentatives Chairman:
President:
Business
Headquarters
Factories

Kaoru Horikawa
Chairman

CHARMANT INC.

The company’s glasses
frames feature reliable
quality, sophisticateddesign, and excellent comfort and function (leftphoto). Applying the technologies used in theseproducts, CHARMANT is
also developing and producing state-of-the-art
medical devices made oftitanium (right photo).

CHARMANT INC.
1968
617 million yen (as of December 2015)
Kaoru Horikawa
Masao Miyachi
Development, production and distribution of opticalframes, sunglasses and surgical instruments (ophthalmic/ neurosurgery)
6-1, Kawasari-cho, Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture
916-0088, Japan
Sabae City, Japan
Dong Guan City, Guandong Province, China
Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China
Design studios:Tokyo, Fukui, Milan, Paris, New York, Hong Kong
Group companies:
US, Germany, France, UK, Hong Kong, China

Vision that Took Local Company Into and Beyond Global Eyewear Industry
Creating medical innovation out of local eyeglass frame manufacturer
The CHARMANT Group’s modest beginnings can be traced back to 1956, when it started as one of Sabae
City’s eyeglass frame parts manufacturers. The company gradually evolved into a fully-fledged frame
manufacturer by insourcing all the necessary parts production and surface processing in order to makefinished products. Growth continued with the creation of their own sales company, entry into theinternational market, and commencement of overseas production, turning it into a global business with a
70% overseas sales ratio. Their unique innovations in titanium processing have recently created light-weight“Line Art” frames, solidifying their status as a premium brand. Now applying this technology to develop
medical instruments, one can say that the last half century has been a history of continuous self-challenge
for CHARMANT.

Clear vision to deliver premium
eyewear across the globe

Ensuring product supply
by establishing production bases
overseas
In 1982, two years after their big success inAsia, the company started to make moves toexpand into the US market, but this time theystruggled desperately to find companies who
would be their agents. “The design and size
made for Japanese and Asians were not wellreceived in the US. At my wits’ end, I asked a
Korean friend for his advice. He said we should
set up our own sales company, and I thought,‘well, indeed.’ We soon started to search for
local partners, and by pure chance I found outthat my friend from university managed a small
trading company in Denver, Colorado. I talked
to him about my dream and convinced him tobe the president of our first sales company in
the US, which we set up in New York. We
sent two young employees – one in charge ofVenturing into the medical businessand revitalizing local economy
In 2012, CHARMANT embarked on abrand new challenge. Using the state-ofthe-art precision processing technologies
developed through R&D and production ofhigh-end eyewear, such as “LineArt”, they
began manufacturing and selling cuttingedge medical instruments, which weremainly titanium products. These products
are made with four different materials –high-hardness special steel for the bladeedges of surgical scissors and titanium alloy
springs for the handles. The materials areprocessed with CHARMANT’s unique laser
micro welding technology, achieving the
sharpness of the blades as well as the lightness of the scissors. First starting from ophthalmic instruments, the scope of products
has been expanding to instruments for neuroand vascular surgeries. “Our company’s
know-how has been refined to meet theworld’s diverse needs and designs for theeyewear. This gives us the perspective ofusers and flexible ideas beyond the conventions of the medical instrument industry.
Our unremitting efforts for originality andingenuity to meet the needs of doctors haveproduced revolutionary medical instruments. I believe that companies that own
unique technologies should take the leadingroles and constantly venture into new fields
without fear of setbacks.”
Today, CHARMANT combines technologies of eyeglass frame manufacturing withsuperior craftsmanship of Sabae – digital andanalog – to lead Sabae’s innovation to becomea new production base of world-class medical
instruments, and also to contribute to local
revitalization. With conviction, Mr. Horikawa
states that “although we haven’t made huge
steps yet, our medical business will be without
a doubt successful in a few years. I believe
Sabae will be the production center of theworld’s medical instruments. Prime Minister
Abe visited us in April 2015, because companies like us are expected to take the lead insupporting the development of rural areas, torealize the ‘Local Abenomics.’”

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

18

CHARMANT first made its inroads into
the global arena in 1980 by exporting tosoutheast Asia. Mr. Horikawa, the founderand chairman of the company, explains thismotive that “it was my insatiable curiosity thatmade me want to try delivering our high-end
eyewear to people across the world.”
The first two countries were Singapore
and Thailand, where they aimed to secure
the sales networks by the one-country-oneagent system. Then they immediately saw
success, which can be explained with twofacts. First, frames imported from Europe

did not fit the people of southeast Asia, but
the frames made for Japanese fit them without any adjustments. Secondly, while metalframes would easily rust in the southeast
Asian environment which is even morehumid than Japan, the Japanese plated
frames did not. Thanks to the Singaporean
agent who also had branches in Indonesia andMalaysia, CHARMANT expanded to four
Asian countries in a single swoop.

management and the other of design – and they
started with just three people.”
After their persistent efforts in sales,
CHARMANT eyewear’s finest quality was
finally recognized, and the sales steadily
increased. With the confidence after successes
in both Asia and the US, the company
expanded to Germany, France, Great Britain,
and Italy from 1987 onwards. They continued
to explore the European market by sending toeach branch a management expert who gained
experience in the American market. Today,
CHARMANT sells their products to a total ofover 100 countries across the globe throughagents, as well as by direct sales through local
subsidiaries in 12 countries.
Next, CHARMANT rolled up theirsleeves to build production bases overseas inorder to ensure that products are delivered to
the world market. After establishing a subsidiary in Hong Kong in 1991, they began theirproduction in China (Dongguan in Guangdong
province and Xiamen in Fujian province). By
designating the Chinese factories for products
targeting the “volume zone” and the headquarters for premium products, CHARMANT has
achieved the optimum production level andstable supply system.

19

Our Global C hallenges

Benda Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Relationship with JBICIn December 2013, JBIC signed a loan agreement amounting to 50 million
Thai baht (JBIC portion) with Benda (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (BTC), a Thai
subsidiary of Benda Kogyo Co., Ltd. The loan was cofinanced with private
financial institutions, and intended to finance, in local currency, thecreation of an automobile parts (such as metal ring gears) manufacturing
plant of BTC located in Rayong Province in the central region of Thailand.

Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture

Benda Kogyo has the
top share in the world
market of engine
starter gears made by
the Benda manufacturing method (topright photo). The company also manufactures flywheel assemblies (top center
photo) and drive
plates (bottom rightphoto), and hot rollingmaterials for agricultural machinery, construction machinery,and vessel engines.

Name
Established
CapitalPresident
Business lines

Kazunari Yashiro
President

Benda Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Headquarters
PlantsBenda Kogyo Co., Ltd.
1964
58.5 million yen
Kazunari Yashiro
Manufacturing of powertrain ring
gear, drive plate assembly, flywheel assembly, and various ringproducts;
manufacturing of cold and hotrolled steel bars and coils
1-16-20 Konigata,Kawajiri-cho,
Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture
737-2604, Japan
Headquarters andKurose (domestic)
South Korea, China,
Thailand (overseas)

Benda (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Factory to Market – Growing Group Business by Expanding Overseas Marketing Channels
Transforming into a global tier 1 technology development company
The history of Benda Kogyo Co., Ltd. began in 1964 from what became its name – bending steel. Creating agroundbreaking method for bending steel pipes without heat, they developed their unique cold-forming
technologies and equipment – the “Benda Method”. After acquiring patents in nine countries, Benda Kogyo
entered the automobile parts industry in 1975, bringing a major change in their business. Under “Quality is
Vital” – their etched in stone corporate philosophy they retain their thorough commitment to quality evenwhen expanding overseas. Such commitment, coupled with the high acclaim earned by Benda Method athome and abroad and the company’s unbending determination to meet customer needs, has led thediscovery of new market opportunities and the continuous development of products by Benda Kogyo.

Delivering top-class quality
to the world with determination
to succeed abroadwell as his strong desire to contribute to theworld with Benda Kogyo’s technologies,
finally brought forth results. “In the mid1990s, we suddenly saw a rapid yen appreciation, turning the situation around to favor
overseas procurement of automotive parts.
We gradually managed to receive orders not
only from Japanese but also Korean andWestern car manufacturers. Japanese cars
have been known to have the best quality inthe world. The fact that our auto parts were
well recognized as such in the Japanese car
industry gave us a good reputation, and our
products began to be used.”

Benda Kogyo took proactive steps for
new businesses as well. One of them, in
2000, was securing QS-9000, a quality standard developed jointly by the “Big Three”
American automakers. Then in 2003, after
forming a technical alliance with Magna
Powertrain Inc. a leading global automotive
parts supplier in Canada, Benda Kogyo
established the Benda R&D Center andbecame engaged in product design, attaining
the functions of a tier 1 supplier whichdevelops and designs parts. They began to
manufacture not only ring gears, their flagship product (a component which transmits
the rotation of starter and initiates theengine), but also drive plate assemblies (acomponent which transmits the drive force
of crankshaft to torque converter).
At the same time, Benda Kogyo also set
up production plants in China, first in Qingdao in 1995, then in Yancheng in 2007.
They faced obstacles and difficulties along
the way, such as the Asian financial crisis(1997) and the Lehman’s fall (2008), but the

Benda Kogyo Group overcame each of themand accomplished steady growth.
In 2013, marking new global expansion,
the company established the group’s next
strategic production plant, Benda (Thailand)Co., Ltd. in Thailand. Mr. Yashiro says that“contrary to the overseas plants mainly built
for supplying clients in the Japanese market,
the Thai plant was built to both manufactureand sell locally to clients in southeast Asia.
We will pour in even more effort into marketing to firmly establish our sales networkin the ASEAN region.”“One Benda Project”
towards United Benda GroupAs part of the 50th anniversary of thefounding, in 2014 Benda Kogyo developed
its first medium-term business plan
(2015-2017), creating the “One Benda
Project” aimed at unifying the group businesses to realize a united BENDA Group in
3 years. One of the plans is to increase
their share in the global market by moving
on from a business focused on singleproducts, such as ring gears, and placing

more weight on drive plates or assembled
components and to reach the vision for
their future: becoming a global tier 1 technology development company. In August
2016, the construction of their new plantin Kurose was completed, enhancing theirdomestic production capabilities. The plant
will give further polish to the advanced
technology and quality which are thesources of Benda Kogyo’s competitiveness.
It will also assist in passing on the technologies across Japan, while enhancing thedomestic production market share.
Ever since their founder made the firm
decision to advance into South Korea, Benda
Kogyo has been rapidly capturing new sales
from new markets and expanding their businesses. Reflecting on its history, the current
President says, “Driven by the excellent
reception overseas, our orientational focus
for this business shifted, ‘from factory to themarket,’ and our overseas sales now substantially exceed our domestic sales as a result. It
goes without saying that BENDA Groupwould not have grown without pursuing theoverseas market.”

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

20“Benda Kogyo Group has faced a lot ofchallenges throughout our history. Yet we
confronted and overcame all of these crises
and obstacles.” As President Mr. Yashiro
states, there is a symbolic episode behindthe overseas expansion that led the company to success.
Mr. Kazuyoshi Yashiro, the grandfather ofthe current president and the founder of
Benda Kogyo, built the company’s first overseas branch in South Korea in 1986, despite

strong opposition from others in Benda leadership. The purpose behind this expansion
was to seek a low-cost but good-quality labor
force amid a serious lack of the same and anincreased cost of labor in Japan. However, it
was not uncommon at the time for Japanesecompanies to collapse after expanding toSouth Korea. As feared, they continued to see
losses, and all of the other executives
suggested withdrawing from the country,
fearing that it would jeopardize their businessin Japan. But Mr. Kazuyoshi Yashiro had agreater fear that their business will eventually
come to an end if they continued solely withdomestic production. This sense of crisis, as

Capturing local sales channels
by local production

21

Our Global C hallenges

Toyota Kohki Co., Ltd.
Fuchu City, Tokyo

Fuji Concrete Industry Co., Ltd.
Takeo City, Saga Prefecture

The plant of Fuji Silvertech Concrete Private Limited

First shipment of concrete products

Contributing to India’s nation-building
with high-quality concrete products
Courageous challenge by cross-border relationship based on trust
In India, which is enjoying rapid economic growth, the demand for concrete construct to improve its
infrastructure including roads, ports and bridges is rising. Amid this dynamic situation, two Japanese small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with technology for manufacturing high-precision, high-quality
concrete products jointly branched out to India, and started production and sales locally. Since orders forconcrete products are usually placed with local companies, no other Japanese manufacturers of concrete
products had entered India. However, an encounter with young Indian entrepreneurs who put their hearts
into building the nation made the two CEOs decide to take on a courageous challenge.

SMEs working together todevelop business in India

The two companies had been exploring
the possibility of expanding overseas amid
the decreasing demand for concrete products
in Japan. About two years before setting up
FSC, Toyota Kohki established a whollyowned subsidiary, Toyota Forms India
Private Limited (TFI), to manufacture concrete forms in India. The relationship Mr.
Toyoda built up with an Indian businessmanin the process of establishing TFI gave him
the confidence to take on the challenge oflaunching a joint venture project.

“A business cannot grow without trustwith local partners,” said Mr. Toyoda and
Mr. Irie unanimously. An encounter
between Mr. Toyoda and Mr. Rajkumar
Oswal marked the start of the relationship.
Mr. Toyoda was introduced to Mr. Oswal
by an Indian associate who was working as
an assistant in a booth at an exhibition for
construction machinery in Mumbai in February 2013 at the time of registering his
company. Mr. Oswal was the person
responsible on the Indian side in the negotiations with world-famous companies
including Honda Motor on expanding inIndia. He has a great deal of experience ofworking for multinational companies, and isa man of faith and integrity.
Interested in his personal history andcharacter, Mr. Toyoda asked Mr. Oswal tohelp him launch TFI. At the time, Mr.
Oswal was 69 years old, having retired
before becoming even 50. He liked Mr.
Toyoda’s idea, became the advisor of TFI,and subsequently became a director. The
strong tie between the two men led to a new
business opportunity.
TFI gradually started to receive requests
from local Indian precast manufacturers tovisit Japanese manufacturers of concrete
products. In particular, Mr. Brijesh Shah,
who is a young top executive of a 60-yearold company that manufactures concrete
products, wished to learn sophisticated technologies abroad and introduce them to India
to help develop India’s precast industry andimprove the country’s infrastructure. Hestrongly expressed his wish to visit Japanthrough Mr. Oswal, with whom he becameacquainted following an introduction from a
consultant. His ambition finally led to a visit
to Japan by a group of top executives ofIndian companies, including himself. During
the tour, Mr. Toyoda showed the grouparound the plants of Fuji Concrete Industry
and his own company. Amazed by thesophisticated manufacturing technology
using high-fluidity concrete Note 2 as well as
excellent product quality and high productivity, Mr. Shah immediately asked Mr.
Toyoda to help him launch a new precast
company jointly with Japanese companies
including Toyota Kohki. He also asked Mr.
Oswal for support.
Moved by the aspirations and sincere
personality of Mr. Shah, Mr. Toyoda agreed
with the idea of establishing a new company
to realize his wishes. However, he considered that his company could not help him,

because it already had a commitment as aconcrete form manufacturer that had alreadyestablished a subsidiary for manufacturingforms in India. Therefore, he passed Mr.
Shah’s request to Mr. Irie of Fuji Concrete
Industry and suggested that Mr. Irie shouldtake on the challenge of expanding into
India. Mr. Irie immediately agreed to theidea, considering that his company could
contribute to the growth of India by providing high-quality concrete products and inparticular because the request came from
Mr. Toyoda. After several negotiations with
the Indian side, the Japanese side agreed toestablish a new joint company among thetwo Japanese companies and one Indiancompany, finally founding FSC in March2015. Mr. Irie became chairman, Mr. Shahbecame president, and Mr. Toyoda, Mr.
Oswal and the father and son of Mr. Raval,
who are relatives of Mr. Shah and influential
figures in the local community, became
directors. The arrangement truly symbolizes
the trust between Japan and India.

Note 1:
Precast concrete product: Concrete products that are accurately
mass-produced at a plant, rather than being manufactured at thebuilding and construction site (cast-in-place concrete).
Note 2:High-fluidity concrete: Concrete that does not require compaction
using a vibrator during placement because it is highly fluid. To
maintain quality, it requires unique technology to adjust theamount of water, etc. depending on the weather conditions.

Relationship with JBICJBIC signed a loan agreement in July 2015
worth USD 1.65 million (JBIC portion) with Fuji
Silvertech Concrete Private Limited, an Indiancompany jointly owned by Toyota Kohki Co., Ltd.
and Fuji Concrete Industry Co., Ltd. The loan iscofinanced with The Tama Shinkin Bank.

Aiming to be the largest precast
company in India
FSC’s plant was completed on January
25, 2016, just seven months after construction started. This was exceptionally quick,as it usually takes much time and effort inIndia to acquire land and construct a plant
due to the complicated legal system. It
would never have been possible without the
support from the construction company
managed by Mr. Shah and from Mr. Raval
who is a developer. In addition, financing
by JBIC was used for the plant construction. Mr. Irie highly praised JBIC, “We
have never done business with JBIC before,
and were amazed by its speed. Thanks totheir expertise in overseas financing, we
could receive funds in just two months.”
Overseas expansion is a major step that
determines the direction for SMEs. Mr.
Toyoda emphasized, “We had some concerns, but they were outweighed by thepossibilities in India. Japanese manufacturing technology is the best in the world.
Even SMEs can do a lot of things in foreign
markets. We just need the courage to take a
step forward, as well as ties with local
people.” The new plant commenced operation in March 2016 and business is now
going smoothly. FSC aims to become thelargest manufacturing and sales company of
precast products in India. The new company
is a challenging pioneer.

Minoru Toyoda
President

Toyota Kohki Co., Ltd.

Name
Established
CapitalBusiness lines

Headquarters

Toyota Kohki Co., Ltd.
1966
53.5 million yen
Manufacturing forms for manufacturing concrete products
Manufacturing and construction ofequipment for continuous manufacturing of concrete products
6-12-8 Yotsuya, Fuchu City, Tokyo
183-0035, Japan

Shunsuke Irie
President

Fuji Concrete Industry Co., Ltd

NameFoundedCapitalBusiness lines
Headquarters

Fuji Concrete Industry Co., Ltd.
1970
40 million yen
Manufacturing, sales, and design ofsecondary concrete products
7552-2 Nagano, Higashikawanobori-cho, Takeo City, Saga Prefecture843-0233, JapanJBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

22

Toyota Kohki, which manufactures andsells concrete forms for making concrete
products, and Fuji Concrete Industry,
which manufactures and sells concrete
products, are working together to develop
their business in India which has a population of 1.3 billion. Fuji Concrete Industry
manufactures and sells precast concrete
products Note 1 using forms made by Toyota

Kohki. According to Mr. Toyoda of Toyota
Kohki, the CEOs of the two companies
have a long relationship of strong trust, also
as shown by Mr. Irie of Fuji Concrete
Industry who said, “I work closely with Mr.
Toyoda, and ask him for advice even on
subjects other than business.” The two companies jointly set up an Indian company,
Fuji Silvertech Concrete Private Limited(FSC), to manufacture precast concrete
products in Ahmadabad in the state of Gujarat together with an Indian company.

Strong trust boosts business23

Our Global C hallenges

Relationship with JBIC

Osaka Sealing Printing Co., Ltd.
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Matsuguchi says that he sees the aging as wellas the declining population in a different,
more positive light. “While the population isshrinking, the number of households is
growing due to an increase of single-personhouseholds and trend toward the nuclear
family. More specifically, the increasing
number of the elderly, the young who live
alone, and working couples leads to more
people having meals alone. One product thatused to contain 400 grams is now sold at 100
grams per pack, and this has increased thedemand for the adhesive labels.”“The Daily Pursuit of the newie andthe grandeur” towards the next century
Stepping Up to the World Arena with our label products
Reaching to the 90th anniversary in this year, Osaka Sealing Printing Co., Ltd. (hereafter “OSP”) is a mid-tierenterprise which is at the forefront of small-lot production and distribution of a wide variety of adhesive
labels. The company boosted sales after obtaining a patent in 1961 for inventing stickers which were peeled
off from the mount. Afterwards OSP has become the leading company in the adhesive label industry withestablishing an integrated production system which includes a material paper production, package planning,
design, and printing. For overseas business, OSP paved their way by establishing a material procurementbase in New York State (U.S.) in 1995, and has ever since then steadily developed, setting up a sales office inShanghai (China) in 2003 and a production base in Suzhou (China) in 2006. Then in 2014, the company opened
OSP (THAILAND) CO., LTD. as a sales office in Thailand, where a production base, OSP LABEL (THAILAND)
CO., LTD., was set up two years later. With its unique ideas, OSP continues to turn consumer needs,
ever-changing with time and lifestyle, into business opportunities and is now stepping up into the global
market for the next challenge.

OSP began broadening its playing field in
the 1970s. This coincided with the emergenceof hypermarkets, which drastically changed
the retail business, where, until then, foodand daily products had been sold directly tocustomers by privately-owned shops. President Mr. Matsuguchi looks back at the time:“private shops used to wrap fish, meat, orvegetables in used papers and hand their products to their customers, but at the hypermarkets where customers freely walk around,products need to be packed and labeled with
their names and prices. This helped thedemand for adhesive labels to grow rapidly.”
The demand for the labels was boosted
even further by the introduction of the POS(Point-of-sale) cash register system andbarcodes for managing sales data. With a radi-cal reform of the production process, OSP
developed a system to meet small-lot orders
and its own printer and automatic labelingmachine, providing the service at a cost thatwould not be possible for its rivals. This
mindset was the key to accelerating the
growth. “In recent years, it has become an
obligation for retailers to indicate not only
the ingredients of processed food but also
where they are made and allergens. This has
been a driving force for our growth.” Mr.

OSP’s challenge continues with a keen
eye on the future. In 2006, it established
OSAKA SEALING PRINTING (SUZHOU)
CO., LTD. (China). “The business did not
expand as much as we expected in the beginning, but it picked up when the inbound to
Japan boomed. Chinese people who visited
Japan started to seek Japanese quality, andtogether with our heightened automation
ratio of the production line, this helped us
get on track.”
With the rising labor cost and stricter
regulations for overseas remittance imposed
in China, the company set up OSP LABEL(THAILAND) CO., LTD. in 2016 as an adhesive label production base in Thailand. This
aimed to mitigate the risk of overconcentration of their overseas bases in a single country,
and to target the promising ASEAN market
with 600 million people as a new overseas
branch. In fact, many Thai households do not
yet have a kitchen and so the demand for
perishable ingredients at supermarkets is
relatively low. Thus they are planning tostart from producing and selling labels forindustrial use, and then gradually launch the
production of labels for general consumers
as the middle class grows. OSP utilized loans
from JBIC for setting up OSP LABEL(THAILAND) CO., LTD. “The loan was
introduced to us by a financial institution
with whom we already had business. We are
extremely grateful that JBIC provided us
with competitive, long-term, and stable
funds denominated in Thai baht, although it

Moving forward to the100th anniversary
Towards the fourthindustrial revolution
For the past 90 years since its establishment, OSP has been continuously proposing
new products that are part of people’s daily
lives, and is now expanding its arena abroad.
“Our current consolidated net sales
amount to 95.127 billion Japanese yen Note .
The net sales from overseas business is still
small, but we are aiming to achieve 100
billion yen from domestic and 20 billion yen
from overseas business in the medium to longterm. In order to achieve this number, we
will utilize our branch in Thailand to form
partnerships with local printing companies invarious Asian countries, such as Malaysia andVietnam, and solidify our foundation in the
Asian market.”
OSP will have its 100th anniversary in
10 years. Towards this milestone, and toachieve “OSP’s Industry 4.0 (the fourthindustrial revolution)”, the company has
formed a network for domestic sales
branches and factories through IoT. By
developing the optimum production
efficiency, it aims to create a “Smart Factory,” built on the philosophy of “masscustomization” which would flexibly respondto diverse but small-lot needs. “Although wehave many products with a domestic market
share of 70% or more, technological innovation is progressing minute by minute, andour strengths might sooner or later become
depleted. If, for example, there is an invention of a technology that allows direct printing on products and packages, adhesive
labels will no longer be needed. We will
infinitely challenge to create businesses thatmeet the next generation’s demand, both inand outside of Japan.”
The insatiable curiosity and challenging
spirit of Mr. Matsuguchi continue to create
new ideas and big innovations, proposing
original “methods to print information” with akeen eye on our needs one step ahead of time.
Note:
As of January 2017 (consolidated)

Name
Established
Incorporated
CapitalPresident
Business lines

Headquarters
Sales branches
Production and R&D bases

Osaka Sealing Printing Co., Ltd.
1927
1954
324,439,200 yen
Tadashi Matsuguchi
Production and distribution of
stickers, labels, processed films,
and packages
Manufacturing and distributionof label printer and automatedlabeling machines
1-8 Obasecho, Tennoji-ku, Osaka
City, Osaka Prefecture 543-0028,
Japan
32 in Japan
13 in Japan: Tochigi (3), Gifu (2),Shiga (2), Osaka (3), Kyushu (3)Group companies:
US (New York), three in China(Shanghai, Suzhou, Qingdao),
two in Thailand (Bangkok,
Nakhon Pathom)

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

24

Winning trust from the market
with the innovative production
process and technology

Expanding overseas
production base with an eye todevelop new prospective markets

might take us a while for our Thai businessto move into the black.”

In September 2016, JBIC signed a loan agreement amounting to 63 million Thai baht (JBIC
portion) with OSP LABEL (THAILAND) CO., LTD.,a Thai subsidiary of OSP’s holding company, OSP
HOLDINGS CO, LTD. The loan was cofinancedwith Resona Bank, Limited, and intended toprovide the necessary funds for sticker and label
production and distribution by OSP LABEL(THAILAND) CO., LTD. and will be used to install
new factory equipment.

Tadashi Matsuguchi
President

Osaka Sealing Printing Co., Ltd.

25

Our Global C hallenges

Farmdo Corp.
Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture

Solar panels in operation (Mongolia)

Vegetables sold at stands along a trunk road (Mongolia)

Solar Farm Business :Shaping the Future of World Agriculture
Farmdo’s efforts for farming business and solar power generation in Mongolia
With its corporate philosophy “Support agriculture; Make efforts towards an increase in farmers’ incomes”,
Farmdo Corp. (hereafter “Farmdo”), an SME company that assists Japan’s farmers and supports thecountry’s agriculture sector, promotes the so-called Sixth Industrialization of Agriculture Note 1 that aims tointegrate the activities of sectors in the agricultural industry value chain from production to processing andsales. Having started the solar power business especially in Gunma Prefecture, the company also invests inthe “solar farm business” to generate solar power on a farming land while growing crops, which is a newform of agriculture. The company has installed solar panels at about 100 places in Japan, which generate a
total power capacity of 56,000 kW, including the power capacity generated through solar panels installed onfarm lands where crops are not grown. Farmdo started its business in Mongolia in 2012 and Myanmar in
2013. In the fall of 2017, the company will launch a solar farm business in Mongolia using the accumulated
know-how on the business in Japan, with an aim to: i) assist Mongolia in achieving its target for renewableenergy capacity and ii) provide fresh and safe agricultural products which are expected to see increased
demand in the country.

Understanding the needs offarmers through sales by truck

Corp., the former company of Farmdo, in
1994. Unfortunately, the launch of his company was delayed by 10 months because thesite where he planned to do business became
subject to land use restrictions. Facing theserious situation without any income, hedecided to drive a sales truck loaded with
agricultural materials. “This decision turned
out to be very successful. I could understandthe needs of farmers by directly talking withthem,” Mr. Iwai recounted. He traveled
across the country, purchasing as many as
20,000 agricultural products and pricing them

Launching the solar power
generation business anddeveloping foreign markets
Thereafter, sales continued to increasesteadily, which formed a foundation towards
the Sixth Industrialization of Agriculture.
However, the reputation of vegetables
produced in Gunma was hit by the Great
East Japan Earthquake in 2011, which significantly dragged down sales of vegetables.
Furthermore, the gasoline shortages after theearthquake significantly hurt the householdincomes of farmers. While finding a way toenable farmers to secure a source of income,Mr. Iwai conceived the idea of gaining an
income by selling electricity generated
through solar panels installed on the roofsof plastic greenhouses. Based on this idea,
he acquired fallow land and started a solar
farm business in 2013 to generate solar
power on an agricultural land while growing
crops in a plastic greenhouse. Supported bya government’s program to purchase renewable energy at a fixed price that started in
the previous year, the solar farm business expanded further to install solar panels at about
70 places across Japan. This paved the way
to further expand the solar farm business
into Mongolia.
Mr. Iwai explained, “Farmdo establisheda joint-venture company, Everyday Farm
LLC (EDF), with a local Mongolian company in 2012. I focused on Mongolia because
local eating habits are diversified especiallyin urban areas, and the demand for fresh andsafe vegetables is growing and is expected tocontinue to grow”.
In addition, air pollution in the city of
Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia is worsening andthe city is implementing various measures
to cut air pollution, including the use ofrenewable energy sources. As this project is
expected to spread innovative low carbon
technologies in Mongolia, it is accepted as
one of the projects that is supported under
the joint crediting mechanism (JCM) Note 2
program led by Ministry of the Environment,
Government of Japan. In Mongolia wherea vast agricultural land is available, Farmdo
can fully utilize its knowhow in the solar
farm business which produces stable income
by selling electricity generated throughsolar panels installed on farming land while
growing crops there in more efficient way
by adjusting sunlight. “Needless to say it was
important to earn the trust in our solar farmtechnology from Mongolia, but it was also
important to make our own efforts to build
relationships of trust with local people. As
a result of these efforts, we developed deep
relationships with the local administrative
chief and receive encouraging support fromhim”, said Mr. Iwai, with a smile.

Focusing on educating
young people to build the future ofJapan’s agriculture
Now, Farmdo plans to expand the solar
farm business more broadly in Asian emerging countries. At the same time, the company is making efforts to create the future ofJapan’s farming industry, particularly
together with the next generation of young
people. Mr. Iwai said, “we are planning to
introduce and practice the Japanese versionof the dual system Note 3 in agriculture in partnership with local universities beginning infiscal 2018. This system is intended todevelop human resources who will contribute to the world in the agriculture industry,
providing courses of lectures and training
for both the Sixth Industrialization of Agriculture and agricultural production. We
hope that agriculture will be a growing
industry in 10 years. To realize our hopes,
we believe that our mission is to develop
young people who will support the future
farming industry and overseas agriculturalbusinesses, and to proactively create new
ways of farming”. In April 2017, Farmdo
recruited 17 young members of staff, thelargest number since the company wasestablished. The company continues tomove forward to further increase the potential of Japan’s farming industry.

Note 1: Sixth Industrialization of Agriculture
Integration from the upstream to downstream of the agricultureindustry, by combining its primary sector (agricultural production),secondary sector (processing) and tertiary sector (distribution andsales). The term “Sixth Industrialization of Agriculture” is aninvented term, in which “Sixth” is derived by summing thenumbers, 1 for primary industry, 2 for secondary industry, and 3
for tertiary industry.
Note 2: Joint crediting mechanism (JCM)
An initiative of Japanese government aimed at quantitatively
evaluating Japan's contribution to curbing greenhouse gas
emissions by providing Japanese emission reduction technologies, products, systems, services and infrastructure to developing
countries and taking account of the above quantified contribution
as a part of achievement towards Japan's own target for emission
reduction.
Note 3: Dual system
A practical vocational training system that combines on-thejob (OJT) training programs, and educational and vocational
training courses.

Masayuki Iwai
President

Farmdo Corporation

Relationship with JBICIn March 2017, JBIC signed a loan agreementwith Everyday Farm LLC (EDF), the Mongolian
subsidiary of Farmdo, under a cofinancing
arrangement with Towa Bank, Ltd. for theamount up to USD 12.1 million equivalent, ofwhich JBIC will provide up to USD 8.5 million.
This financing is to provide capital necessary forthe solar power generation project conducted by
EDF in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. EDF will sell electricity to Mongolian National Transmission andDistribution Company for the next two decades.
Name
Established
CapitalPresident
Business lines

Headquarters
Shops

Farmdo Corporation
1994
98 million yen (as of March 2016)
Masayuki Iwai
Sales of agricultural materials, agricultural products, processed specialty
products and electricity generated byphotovoltaic generation
3rd floor, NF2 Bldg., 1-1-1 Tonyamachi,
Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture
371-0855, Japan
Six “Noen’s” shops in Gunma Prefecture, 12 “Shoku no Eki” shops mainly inthe northern Kanto region, and 14“Local production Marché” shops
mainly in Tokyo, and a farm restaurant“Saino Saien” in Saitama Prefecture
Overseas bases:
Everyday Farm LLC (Mongolia)
Five Stars Food Industry Co. Ltd.
(Myanmar)

JBIC Today Special Issue

JBIC Today Special Issue

26

Mr. Masayuki Iwai, President of Farmdo,
recalled, “Since my early 30s, when I wasworking for a leading distribution company, I
had planned to run my own business in the
future. When I opened a store to sell agricultural materials, I had the idea of building a“department store for farmers” that sells
seeds, fertilizers and agricultural machinery.
This idea led me to the current business.”
Mr. Iwai continued to say, “Back then,farmers purchased agricultural machinery andmaterials, such as fertilizers, from Japan Agricultural Cooperatives ( “JA” ) and also sold all
agricultural products to JA. Under such distribution system, farmers have limited access tothe source of information about consumers’
needs, so I thought I could create a new business by establishing new distribution channels(direct sales system) without using the normal
circulation markets, which would directly
bring in more incomes and information about
consumers’ needs to farmers”. Based on thisstrong belief, Mr. Iwai established Farmland

one by one by himself. As a result, he earned
the support of farmers and doubled sales inthe second year. In the third year, he obtained
a license of an agricultural production corporation and founded another company called
Farm Club as a private limited company. This
enabled him to start a business to produce andsell vegetable seedlings. The turning pointcame about 10 years after foundation. Farmdo
was in a slump due to competition and thedeclining number of farmers. Mr. Iwai said,“To overcome the slump, I decided to sell
fresh vegetables that had sustained steadysales. To satisfy the needs of customers whowish to eat fresh vegetables, I built “Shoku no
Eki” shops as a sales network of agricultural
products that connects farmers and consumers. This market-in idea became popular with
consumers and also welcomed by farmers
because it allows them to secure sales channels. This idea was a hit, and sales increasedby 2.2 times year-on-year”.

27