Monozukuri ensures Japan’s niche dominance prevails
The ‘Made in Japan’ brand has
long been synonymous with highquality. And behind the superior
Japanese quality that Nippon
manufacturers offer is the monozukuri philosophy, which focuseson craftsmanship, attention todetail and the constant pursuit ofinnovation to meet client, market
and societal demands. And while
Japan has faced stiffer regional
competition in recent years, the‘Made in Japan’ brand still dominates when it comes to niche B2B
fields, where monozukuri-madeparts, equipment and materials
are still the top choice for clientsseeking unbeatable quality.
A case in point, Nitto Kohki’s
unique ‘CUPLA’ series of quickconnect couplings, which are used
in a range of industries, have been
copied but never matched by competitors. “There are companies
in China and other countries utilizing our trademark for pirated
versions,” says president Akinobu
Ogata. “However, our clients reallyplace importance on quality, so in
the end, they actually came backto us and that is why our market
share is expanding.”
For Kazuhiro Ito, president of automotive parts manufacturer Dynax
Corporation, monozukuri is all about
offering “one-of-a-kind value” and“pursuing unique manufacturingthat only we can do”, as in its friction
materials for the clutch ﬁeld, forexample. He adds: “In addition, allmaterial development, laboratory
testing, evaluation testing, paper
mill and saturation are all done inhouse to meet the needs of ourcustomers. In the past, we used tobuy friction materials, but now wemanufacture everything in-houseand supply our customers with ourown one-of-a-kind products.”
While the fruits of monozukuri
are shown in the high-quality products, Takashi Saigo, president andCEO of Starlite, says it ultimately
comes down to the people behind it.
“When you talk about the strengthsof Starlite, it could be said that it
is our materials, products, or evenmanufacturing methods. However,for me, it’s people that are our greatest strength. Ultimately monozukuri

is done by people. Some parts ofthe process of course may be automated, but the core of Japanesequality comes from the people thathave a passion for manufacturing.”
Adaptation and diversiﬁcationis also key to long-standing monozukuri companies focused on everchanging market demands. Nissin
Kogyo, for example, has gone frommaking tube TV components toparts for new energy vehicles(NEVs). “In the NEV market, it
is essential to have high-quality
components considering the increased demands for durability
and safety. It was not easy to ﬁnd
the next opportunity for us after
the TV business. Therefore, we are
now very eager to contribute to
the NEV industry with our nichecore technologies,” explains president Takashi Shimizu.
Having started out as an aircraft
manufacturer, ShinMaywa Industries has since diversiﬁed into a
range of industries, with its focus
now on expansion in ICT. “We specialize in monozukuri in different
ﬁelds, but we want to add ICT and

big data into the mix so that we cancreate new businesses,” says president and CEO Tatsuyuki Isogawa.
“We have to ﬁnd new insights into
achieving customer satisfaction.
This is our challenge going forward.
We have to develop new systems
using ICT and we have to take up
the challenge to build new products.
That is monozukuri for us.”Like ShinMaywa, Hiyoshi Corporation is looking to expand its
global reach and leadership withenvironmental solutions such as
its CALUX method, a simple andrapid method for dioxin analysis.
“In 1988 Hiyoshi decided it wanted
to work on environmental conservation around the world basedon its experience, technology, andachievements in sanitation, pollution, and environmental issues
in Japan,” says president Hiroshi
Murata. “Since then, we have accepted a total of more than 1,000
people from 36 countries, including
Taiwan, India, Vietnam, the U.S.,
and Brazil, and have provided opportunities to train environmental
experts from around the world.”

ShinMaywa Industries: Vision andinsight for a sustainable future
Established as an aircraft
manufacturer, ShinMaywa
has now successfully diversiﬁed into ﬁve business divisions that provide equipment
and machinery essential fortoday’s global, sustainablyconscious society.

“Our monozukuri (manufacturing) was developed overour 100-year history. We now have started to transform
into a ‘future-oriented’ corporate group that cancontribute to the realization of a better global society.”
TRD701 Automatic Wire
Terminating Machine
The acquisition of three foreigncompanies in ﬁve years continued ShinMaywa Group’s longterm vision oriented towards
2030, which looks to expand
proﬁts and sales with overseas
growth through such alliances.
“These companies had the technologies we were missing, so

Tatsuyuki Isogawa, President & CEO, ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd.
that’s why we purchased them,”
explains company president and
CEO Tatsuyuki Isogawa.
“The alliances, whether domestic or foreign, are to acquire
unique technology, and while
Southeast Asia is a good source
for this growth, a sales and distribution partner is required sothat we can maximize our local
production capabilities.”
Social contribution is the key roleof the Group and in North America,
ShinMaywa (America), Ltd.’s main
products – wire processors, which
improve productivity in the automobile industry, and pumps for
wastewater treatment – are justtwo examNon-Clog Scroll
ples that have
Submersible
Pump
garnered an
excellent reputation in this regard.
In addition, ShinMaywa constantly strives to discover new insights that customers are not awareof in order to create new businesses
that solve social issues worldwide.
As the proud manufacturer of
the US-2, the world’s only amphibian aircraft capable of opensea landing and takeoff, which isoperated by the Japan’s Maritime
Self-Defense Force, Mr. Isogawa
is clear that his company, twice
named Supplier of the Year byBoeing, is so much more thanjust an aircraft-related business.
“We want to be recognized as a
global company providing services
to a wide variety of industries.”

www.shinmaywa.co.jp/english

Dynax building components for the EV revolution
Though Dynax has been developing friction components for the automotive industry for almost 50 years, andin-wheel motor technology for the last decade, its plans to become an EV manufacturing specialist are only
just beginning.
synchronizer rings. However,with the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE)vehicles to electric vehicles(EVs), manufacturers involvedin automotive components likeDynax are having to respondand adapt.
“Countries are declaring
their intentions to becomecarbon neutral, and in orderto achieve this, the trend to-“We aim to be the bestcompany in the world
at creating one-of-akind value and inspiring
our customers.”
Kazuhiro Ito,
President,
Dynax Corporation
Price competition is getting
tougher globally, but Japanese companies continue tohave a large share of nichemarkets thanks to theirm u l t i - p ro d u c t , m u l t i - f u n c tional production. One suchbusiness is Dynax, a specialist in various components forautomotive, construction andagricultural vehicles.

Wind-powered electric generator“We aim to be the bestcompany in the world at creating one-of-a-kind value andinspiring our customers. Oneof-a-kind value means pursuing unique manufacturing that
only we can do. In the clutch
field, that would be friction
materials,” says Kazuhiro Ito,
President of Dynax.
Since its foundation in 1973,
Dynax has researched, developed and designed products
such as wet-type friction plates,
clutch pack assemblies andIn-wheel motor
wards vehicle electrification
is inevitable. For our part, wehave to develop friction materials that are compatible withelectric vehicles, and we intend
to develop motors that canenter the EV market,” says Mr.
Ito. “In terms of electrification, a motor is a motor but themechanism is divided into twoparts: e-Axle and in-wheel motors. Nowadays, almost 100%of car manufacturers, including Tesla, have gone for e-Axle.
Our in-wheel motors are superior in that they are extremely
low-cost and fuel-efficient, butthey have not yet been adopted
by customers.”
From the point of view ofmajor car manufacturers, Mr.
Ito believes that it will be difficult for in-wheel motors tobe adopted now. However, withventure companies that makeEVs currently springing up allover the world, inquiries for
Dynax’s products in this field
are racing
i n . “ Wehave already arranged
for an advanced development line to produce
the motors so that venturecompanies can be confident
that Dynax will supply them,”
Mr. Ito explains. “The idea is tobon neutrality in the future withthe perspective of infrastructuredevelopment to create a small
emergency power source. We
are developing asmall generator
which will hopefully be launchedin 2023.”
Normally, theblades need
Disconnect-cone clutch
wind speeds ofmodule for HEV and PHEV
roughly 7.8 tothat this in-wheel motor is a 13.6 knots to rotate, but Dynax’s generator uses a small windproduct to rely on.”Not only are Dynax’s in-wheel turbine with vertical blades thatmotors more fuel efficient, they can rotate at a wind speed of 3.9
are also expected to improve knots in order to generate electhe driving experience. “For tricity. The 7 meter-high turbine
one thing, you don’t need any can be installed in dense urban
extra parts in terms of gears. environments, like in a street
And in the case of in-wheel mo- lamp, and used for multiple purposes such as charging
tors, the advantage is that theysmartphones.
fit directly into
With the comthe wheels, sopany set to celt h ey a reebrate its 50th
very comanniversary
pact innext year, theterms of
Dynax presivehicle condent says the
struction,”firm’s long-termsays Mr. Ito.
Invertergoal is sustainability.
In order toaccelerate the transition to- “We feel that we have to suswards electrification in the tain ourselves, and although the
future, new research and de- existence of clutches will not
velopment is required. Though disappear, we will push ahead
Dynax has been developing in line with the move towards
in-wheel motors for 10 years, EVs,” he says. “The other issue is
it is only the beginning in how to secure human resources.
terms of its plan to become a One of our initiatives on thiscomponent specialist for EV front is to develop local townships through social contribution
manufacturers.
“The next step is inverter con- to the community by recruiting
trol,” says Mr. Ito. “We are now people, and to attract people andworking together with universities promote recruitment activities
to develop this feature as well, from there. Speciﬁcally, we are
and we are developing solutions trying to attract people by crewhere we combine the motor and ating a wine business and haveinverter and sell already grown 110 grapevines
the function in Hokkaido. In 2025, we willfrom a sin- build a winery and have ﬁnishedgle product. planting 28,000 grape saplings
We are also on 20 hectares.”developing a small
wind power
generator using
e-Axleour motor technology.
www.dynax-j.com/en
This combines the issue of carbuild a production line before
the business is finalized. We
want to show our customers

Lightweight parts for the EV revolution
Through its lightweight, high-performance parts, Japanese manufacturer AkashiKikai is not only ready for the EV revolution, but is helping drive the constructionindustry forward as well.
Whenever an industry under- gevity has been its dedication togoes a drastic change, solutions nurturing its human resources.
are developed which not only Company president Tetsuo Mirespond to that sector’s speciﬁc ura explains: “I like to think ofchallenges, but can also be uti- it as building human capability.
If you have good engineers andlized in a wide range of ﬁelds.
Founded in 1946, vehicle parts good personnel, you can develop
producer Akashi-Kikai, a subsidiary them and, at the same time,of Daihatsu, has always focused on evolve monozukuri (Japanesecreating small and cost-effective manufacturing craftsmanship).”
solutions which have multiple apThe EV revolution has not takplications, and the sudden increase en the company by surprise. In
in demand for EVs
2019, envisioning
has only sharpened
the huge change
this focus. Many ofahead, Akashithe company’s key
Kikai crafted acomponents, such
five-year plan toas its steering gearchange its busiand transmission
ness and meet newgears, have beenmarket demands.
Tetsuo Miura,developed with
Mr. Miura also
President & CEO,weight in mind andunderstands thewill continue to be Akashi-Kikai Industry Co., Ltd. potential wider
used in EVs.
applications for
The backbone of
h i s c o m p a n y ’s
the company’s lonproducts, with its
https://akasi-kk.co.jp

award-winning camshaft now
being employed in construction machinery as well as in
the automotive vehicles it was
designed for. Akashi-Kikai sent
engineers to major construction
companies such as Caterpillar
and Kawasaki Heavy Industries,
to learn more about the field
and has begun working on hydrologic components.
The almost-silent nature of
EVs is often the ﬁrst thing theuser notices, and Akashi-Kikai isdeveloping a high-performancenoiseless gear which would
also have applications in theconstruction industry. The company’s success has allowed it to
expand into the Indonesian and
Malaysian markets, where it has
joint ventures with local partners. No matter how the company continues to expand, Mr.
Miura stresses that its employees
will be central to its growth.

Manual Transmission

Automatic Transmission (CVT)Steering Gear

Transfer

Pursuing the use of light-weight carbon neutralmaterials for manufacturing innovation
Tokai Kogyo is a full-service supplier specializing in material and manufacturing
development integrated with superior design, with the company now focusing R&D on
plant-based materials for primarily automotive parts.
Urethaneseat pad“We want to work withboth Japanese andforeign manufacturers
for joint development andlower production costs.”
Yuichi Kimura,President & CEO,Tokai Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1947, Tokai Kogyo
specializes in automotive materials and parts manufacturing,with a focus on superior design.
“We want to contribute to andenrich society through our monozukuri,” says President and CEO,Yuichi Kimura.

Glass run

ECU casefor EPS
Door opening
weatherstrip“Our strength is the assurance
and control of high-quality products, enabling us to gain the trustof the international community tocompete in the global market.”
Collaboration is vital for thecompany’s business model, says thepresident, highlighting that “every
country has its own culture, language and mindset, so local partners
acting on our behalf is crucial.”
With such human resource
challenges, automation certainly
has its place, but is not the com-plete answer. “Due to AI’s limitations in retaining the craftsmanship spirit, we strive to make ourcompany attractive for talented
individuals,” says Mr. Kimura.
Other changes, in both societal
demands for comfort and environmental responsibility, have also
played their part. “Product development is carried out to meet requirements ranging from durability to weight reduction, quietness
and design,” Mr. Kimura explains.
“For carbon neutrality, our energyefﬁcient processes still yield thesame quality, with plant-basedmaterials a focus of our R&D.”

www.tokaikogyo.co.jp/EN

Dies and precision stamped parts
for the next generation of automobiles
A long-time leader in precision stamped parts and dies for ICE (internal combustion engine) components, Nissin
Kogyo has emerged as a forerunner in one-of-a-kind battery parts for hybrid and electric vehicles.

“We would like to bringour stamping andcore technology to thehighest level. It is ourgoal to keep challenging
ourselves in newmarkets worldwide.”
Takashi Shimizu, President,
Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd.
With an industry presence formore than 60 years, Nissin Kogyo initially came to prominence
manufacturing electron guns for
television sets, establishing an enviable reputation for its niche coretechnologies. But reputations live
and die on a company’s ability toadapt quickly to societal change,
and with the market for tube TVs
in terminal decline, ﬁnding the next
opportunity has been a challenge.
In the last few years, armed withknowledge of burr control, surface
treatment and assembly technologies, and eager to contribute to an
emerging market, Nissin Kogyo
has successfully repositioned itself
as a high-quality manufacturer ofElectric Vehicle
precision automobile parts for the
new energy vehicle (NEV) industry,taking advantage of its peerlessstamping technology to meet increased consumer demands forsafety and durability.

GLOBAL NETWORKUTSUNOMIYA;OGAKI;OTSU HEADQUARTERS;BEIJING, CHINA;LOYANG, SINGAPORE;
BATAM, INDONESIA;
OHIO, U.S.A.

Medical Device
Company President, Takashi
Shimizu, is keen to emphasize
Nissin Kogyo’s unique ability tokeep apace not only with the typeof auto components required,
but also the scale of production demanded by a rapidly expanding market. To this end, thecompany’s cutting and grinding
method, suitable for dealing withlow volumes, has taken a proverbial back seat for now.
As the NEV industry continues
to expand – Japan is planning toban conventional gasoline car
sales by 2035 – Nissin Kogyo has
also looked to collaborate with
its cousin company to consolidate its market position.
Mr. Shimizu explains: “This collaboration maximizes our special
tools capability. We do die design and build in-house, and our
cousin company makes bespoke
machines for special tooling.” Sofar, the venture has seen the companies work together on approximately 20 machines, one of which
is being used to manufactureparts for lithium-ion batteries
used in electric vehicles (EVs) inthe company’s Indonesian plant.
Away from the EV industry,Nissin Kogyo’s ability to produce

high-quality components at scale
has seen Mr. Shimizu look to diversify into other markets. He
sees comparisons between the
NEV and medical sectors: “In thenear future, our strengths may
be best harnessed in the medical
industry, and in particular for the
manufacture of disposable parts,
such as catheters.” As with othermarkets, a certain quantity oforders is required to fulﬁll thecompany’s machine capacities.
An established internationalpresence, Nissin Kogyo has sufﬁcient global reach to future-proof
its status should the automotive
component market become saturated in the coming years. With
plants in the U.S.A., Singapore,
Indonesia and China, Mr. Shimizu
makes no secret of the importanceof receiving support from the company’s original local subsidiaries:“We began our business in the
U.S.A. in 1990. Fortunately our ﬁrst
partner is still with us, and still
studying new technologies with us.”
It is this spirit of collaboration
which enables Nissin Kogyo tofunction on a global scale, and Mr.
Shimizu, for one, has no desire forthat to change. As the company
nears its 70th anniversary, expansion is not on his horizon. Far
more important, in his words, isto “bring our technology to thenext level by collaborating withour colleagues at Nissin Global.”
Customer satisfaction is key
too, of course. But it will develop
organically if the company continues adapting to societal changes,

NANTONG, CHINA;

Sheet Metal Forging

Deep Drawn

Round Trim®
investing in cutting-edge technology, and challenging itself in newmarkets, in conjunction with its
established global team.

https://nissinjpn.co.jp/en/

Shoei Kogyo: Helping clients to excel
An industry-leading presence for almost 75 years, Shoei Kogyo continues to thrive in the face of geopolitical andglobal health challenges, offering a diverse portfolio of solutions to a wide range of companies.

SHOEI MEXICANA“Our strength is in ourcollaboration withcustomers in every ﬁeld;
our strategy is not todevelop new products,
but new methods tomanufacture them.”
Hiroyuki Iguchi, President& CEO, Shoei Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Though known as a manufacturerof automobile and electrical components since its foundation in
1946, Shoei Kogyo has also had notable success in the medical sector.

Press and welding equipment
Company president Hiroyuki
Iguchi, however, is keen to emphasize that his ﬁrm is neither
focused on a speciﬁc industry nor
does it offer a speciﬁc product.
Rather, the company’s strength
is in providing solutions, and inparticular streamlining the research, design and development
process by integrating depart-ments that would otherwise operate independently of one another.
As Mr. Iguchi explains: “We
don’t just translate designs into
products, but develop the design
proposals in collaboration withthe customer. We propose ideasthat increase productivity andreduce costs to help clients excel
against competitors, allowing

them to be more competitive interms of quality and price.”
It’s an approach that has reaped
dividends for the company, with anestablished base in China and plans
to expand current operations in
Mexico. Changes in the automotive
industry, meanwhile, represent a signiﬁcant opportunity to bring in new
methods and ways of doing business.
For Mr. Iguchi the most important thing is growth. For thecompany itself – but also for thepeople who work for it.

www.shoei-kgy.co.jp

Takenaka: The bolts and nuts of industry
The industrial bolts and nuts made by Takenaka Seisakusho hold in place the backboneof Japan’s physical and social infrastructure.

“When it comes to adding
value to our products,
we are pursuing the
aspects that will provide
advantages for ourcustomers.”
Saeko Takenaka, President,
Takenaka Seisakusho
Formed in 1935 as a manufacturerof nuts and bolts for ships, today
Takenaka Seisakusho’s products
support critical physical and social
infrastructure, including nuclear
power plants, railways, expressways, bridges and hospitals.
“When it comes to adding value
to our products, we are pursuing

the aspects that will provide advantages for our customers,” says
Saeko Takenaka, President of Takenaka Seisakusho. “One of thoseadvantages we’ve pursued is the
TAKECOAT®-1000, which was designed to prolong the life of themetal used in bolts and extend thetime before they start to rust. Thisis just one example of the problems
that our clients brought forward for
us to solve with our technologies.”

which it supplies special bolts forwind energy plants. “Those windenergy plants are on land rightnow, but with the increased government support, we will see more
and more wind energy plants andCourtesy of Sumitomo Corporation

After a 2000-hour Salt Spray
Test: TAKECOAT®-1000 (right),
Electro-Galvanized (left)
One of the industries which benefits from such advanced technologies developed by Takenaka
is the renewable energy sector, toOffshore wind farmwind farms move to the ocean,”says Ms. Takenaka. “When a windenergy plant is built in the ocean,you need to have components thatare anti-corrosive. There we canbring our TAKECOAT® technology,
so we are actively pursuing the
manufacturing processes neededfor offshore wind farms.”
The main advantage provided
by TAKECOAT®-1000 is the reduction in maintenance required,

TAKECOAT®-1000 ﬁlm thickness
with clients requiring just onetenth of the maintenance effort
associated with conventionalzinc-coated bolts.
“As found in salt spray tests,
where conventional zinc bolts rusted completely within 500 hours,
TAKECOAT®-1000 lasted over
6000 hours and had still not rusted.
When it comes to the initial investment, of course, TAKECOAT®-1000
is more expensive than conventional
cheap bolts, however, when you
take into consideration the costs
over the lifecycle of the productover ten years, customers can really save a lot of money and time.”
www.takenaka-mfg.co.jp/en

Coupling the futureWith its unique CUPLA products, Nitto Kohki has made itself indispensable to someof the world’s largest firms and industries.
In an era where regional competitors are replicating the concept ofmonozukuri and threatening topush Japan out of mass production markets, it would be easy toconclude that, for some companies, quality plays second fiddle
to cheap labor costs.
For Nitto Kohki president
Akinobu Ogata, however, nothing
could be further from the truth.
In recent years, he says, customers the company had previously
thought lost have returned andhelped increase the coupling giant’s market share. The pursuit ofexcellence not only obliges Nitto

ies, and, as Mr. Ogata points out, acontribution to the advancementof electric- or hydrogen-powered
vehicles also represents an important contribution to carbon
neutrality in general.
But Nitto Kohki doesn’t only
contribute to society throughits products. There are, as Mr.
Ogata emphasizes, “actions thatcan be taken as well”. One such

People are at the heart of Nitto Kohki’s company philosophy,
whether they are employees ornot. Take engineers, for example.
There is concern in Japan that thecountry’s aging population will leadto the rapid spread of automation,
placing human jobs at risk. Mr.
Ogata, however, does not see engineers’ jobs as precarious; it is more
a question of reimagining their role.

“CUPLA”
quick connect couplings“Nitto Kohki has placed
importance on energy
and labor saving, andalso on producing good
products.”
Akinobu Ogata,President,
Nitto Kohki Co., Ltd.
electric screwdrivers. To this end,
the company has recently enteredinto a collaboration with a major
robot supplier to attach ‘delvo’ torobotic arms. On the other hand,
there is Europe and the U.S. Nitto
Kohki is not a name most Western firms currently recognize –“HHV CUPLA” fuel coupling forhigh pressure hydrogen
Kohki to invest proper time andmoney in research and development, but also helps to differentiate the firm from its competitors.
Having a reputation for quality,
meanwhile, means Nitto Kohki’s
coupling products continue to be
used in leading-edge industries,
such as semiconductors, wherereliability is by far more important than cost.
Operating behind the scenes
sometimes means that Nitto Kohki’s work slips under the radar, but
Mr. Ogata isn’t interested in global
acclaim. It is far more important tobe “contribtuing to society” which
the company does in various, often
unheralded, ways. Many manufacturers, for instance, use Nitto
Kohki couplings for handling electrolytes used to fill lithium batter-action was to develop equipment to suck out the sputumof patients with dyspnea. Mr.
Ogata adds: “Large-scale blackouts occurred in Hokkaido when
the area was hit by the 2018
Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake. I sent our aspirators anddry cells to the stricken area
two days after, as I thought“AUTO-HINGE”, for quiet andsmooth door closing“MEDOMER” air massager

our dry cell drive equipment
was useful when electricity was
not available. Our aspirator was
also required by many hospitals
that were looking after Covid
patients. I was glad to see it was
helpful for healthcare workers
and patients.”“At Nitto Kohki,” Mr. Ogata
says, “we have a corporatemotto: ‘development provides
corporate insurance’. That ‘development’ encompasses four
important meanings. Firstly, thedevelopment of products that
contribute to society. Secondly,
the development of the sales
market. Thirdly, the developmentof human resources. And fourthly, the development of a systemfor organization management.”
It is the last of these that appears to be presently the most significant. “From now on,” Mr. Ogata
continues, “I think it is going to beimportant for engineers to engage
more in process management.”
That is, ensuring company products
meet standards of safety, security
and quality through machine maintenance and an increased focus on
research and development.
Looking to the future, Mr. Ogata
is keen to build the company’s
reputation overseas. On the one
hand, there are global needs forlabor-saving where Nitto Kohki
can contribute with its ‘delvo’“delvo” electric screwdrivera by-product, no doubt, of thecompany’s much valued discretion– but Mr. Ogata is confident thatwill soon change. More generally,
he is open to overseas collaboration: “If any overseas firms havean interest in our technology andwant to have a discussion with us,
we are always willing to engage.”
Whatever happens, it is unlikely that Nitto Kohki’s company
values will change. The key ispeople to contribute to society.
Employees should feel happy
about the work they do. If, inturn, society values the workthat Nitto Kohki does, the company will continue to develop.
That relationship, of course, issymbiotic. Working for the goodof society drives excellence; selfless excellence paves the way
for success.

www.nitto-kohki.co.jp/eYuken: Diversifying for society’s needs
The hydraulics company is shifting its business model to respond to globalization, digitalization and sustainability trends.

“Our hydraulic products
can contribute to wind
power generation andelectric vehicles.”Hideharu Nagahisa,
President, Yuken Kogyo
Founded in 1956, Yuken Kogyo
specializes in hydraulics, supplying
its hydraulic equipment and systems to various industries. Starting with the establishment of its
overseas manufacturing base in
Taiwan in 1969, the company has
built a group network for manufacturing and sales throughout Asia.

Though the company
between companies in thedeals primarily with oil hysame sector, however, it isdraulic products, the group
possible for companies in difpresident stresses how Yuken
ferent sectors to do so. That
Kogyo – like all Tier 1 busiis our vision.”With decarbonization
nesses – must respond to
globalization, digitalizationa key global trend forand sustainability trends.
the future, energy-saving“Therefore, we need to
products are in greater
demand, and thus Yuken
expand our business into
Linear servo valves
Kogyo is transitioning its
other areas, through part“Today the business environ- nerships or through mergstrategy to focus on moreenvironmentally friendly
ment is changing at an accelerated ers and acquisitions. That
products. “Our hydraulicpace due to the Fourth Industrial will be the source of our
Revolution,” says Hideharu Naga- future growth,” he says.
products can contribute to“We often receive sughisa, President of Yuken Kogyo.
wind power generation, as“Our group of companies
gestions for overseas KIRIKO shaving wind power generators use
compactor
a hydraulic system,” says
partnerships, andis therefore aiming
we are proactively consider- Mr. Nagahisa. “Another example
to create added
ing those offers. For example, is society’s shift to electric vehicles
value to meet
our customwe are considering entering (EVs). The EV body materials are
the mobile market in India. varied, so we are responding to thisers’ needs,
We are also considering ex- trend too. There are many opportuwhilst improving our
panding our business into the nities for us to explore.”
global producaerospace industry, as well astion system
the water hydraulics and hyEnergy draulic robot industries. It canto support
saving HPU be difﬁcult to create synergies
our growth.”
www.yuken.co.jp

Approaching 60 years of grinding wheel excellence
Since its foundation in 1967, New Registon has garnered a global reputation for
producing depressed center grinding wheels of the highest quality.
As company president Kenji“Data is the new oil” has almost become a cliché, but when Yamauchi explains, traditionalwe think of data not just as ly it has been difficult for engia mass of figures but also as neers in the grinding wheel inuseful feedback, it’s true that dustry to obtain feedback fromits value becomes clear. One the end users. To combat this,company that is truly dedicated New Registon regularly sends
to using this feedback as the members of its sales teams tocornerstone of its business is visit end users and distribuJapanese grinding wheel pro- tors to gauge any issues orrequests. “This has helped us
ducer New Registon Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1967, New Reg- to improve the quality of our
products, and it
iston specializes ingives us a comhigh-performance
petitive advangrinding wheels fortage in this incutting, grinding,
dustry,” adds Mr.
and polishing metYamauchi.
als. As is often theThanks to thiscase with Japanese
feedback, theproducers, B2B
company has
specialist New Regbeen able to deiston’s strength isvelop ceramicin the added value
incorporated into Kenji Yamauchi, President, g r i n d i n g d i s c swith supplemenits products; value
New Registon Co., Ltd.
tary pads, as wellthat is ultimately
as its Super Green
derived from its
customers.
www.newregiston.co.jp/en/ series. This seriesof grinding discs has increased
elasticity and provides a softerproduct for the end users, while
New Registon’s electroplating
technology adopts the use ofsynthetic diamonds embedded
into a base metal and allows fora hard abrasive grinding force
in its Metaridge Burr.
The family company has
previously worked with European partners to develop
its products, and with a 30%
domestic market share, it has
expanded its sales network
to include the United States,
China, Italy, UAE and many
more. As this expansion continues, New Registon is always
looking for new end-users anddistributors with niche needs
that the company can meetwith its specialized wheels. As
Mr. Yamauchi puts it: “Whilesome people may say that only
the price matters, we try to
add value to our products forour end users.”

Blue
Cerac

Super Green Sigma

Osaka headquarters

CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

Entrance to Starlite’s Ritto Plant

Pursuing innovation for a sustainable society
Starlite is a company committed to working toward the creation of systems that
do not place an excessive burden on the planet by deepening its understanding ofusability and continuously improving products for more sustainable use.
Founded in 1936 as a venturebusiness to develop original
phenolic resin sliding materials, Starlite has since diversiﬁed into a wide range of ﬁelds,
including the steel, shipbuilding,industrial machinery, automobile, telecommunications andhousing industries, by utilizing
various materials such as highperformance engineered plastics
and advanced tribology (friction,
wear, lubrication engineering)
technology.
“We are a technology development-oriented creative groupthat supports the safety and security of people’s lives and provides solutions for social issues
through monozukuri ,” explains
Takashi Saigo, President and CEOof Starlite. “It is Starlite’s mission
to provide support for an enriched
life in harmony with nature, andevery moment we strive to fulﬁll
this mission means growth for us.
We do not merely pursue convenience and comfort, but provide

Clutches and brakes
experiences and services throughour products that are truly necessary for the planet and society.”

In doing so, the company iscommitted to working toward
the creation of systems that do
not place an excessive burden
on the earth “by deepening ourunderstanding of usability andcontinuously improving products
for longer use,” says Mr. Saigo.
“In addition, we hope to pursue
spiritual enrichment by focus-

Active Grille
Shutter (AGS)
ing on serious problems such associal disparity, natural disasters,
climate change, environmental
pollution and mental illness that
we are facing as a result of recent
economic development.”
When it comes to sustainability, Starlite plans on moving
into bioplastics and advancing
recycling technology, with recent research and development
focused on looking into the adjustment of temperatures used
to melt materials for recycling.
“We are working very hard with
our R&D department to achievea circular economy,” says Mr.
Saigo. “When you talk aboutsustainability, many people automatically jump to recycling.
However, I feel it’s important tokeep using existing things also
and to find new uses for them.”
As the automotive industry
transitions towards electriﬁca-

tion as part of the low-carbon
agenda, the company is looking
at how it can apply some of thetechnologies it is developing toserve the sector with innovative
solutions. Since 2009, Starlite
has had a technology alliancewith Röchling Automotive anddeveloped various products, one
example being the active grilleshutter (AGS) which manages
aerodynamics and thermal systems in cars. “We would liketo further expand this originaltechnology of theirs in the Japanese market through the joint
venture,” adds Mr. Saigo. “We
are also working on reducing theweight of a lot of our components.
We believe that there is room
to develop components that use
lightweight plastics rather thanheavy metals such as steel.”

eMET
Compounding experience ofmaterial technology developed
over many years, combined withevaluation and analysis technologies, has enabled the developmentof new functions suited to various
operating environments and performance requirements. Starlite’s“We are working
tirelessly with our R&D
department to achieve acircular economy.”
Takashi Saigo,
President & CEO, Starlite
products range from damage andheat resistant aprons for rollingmills and rudder bearings for marine applications, to brakes forvarious equipment and miniaturepeel-off claws for multi-functional
printers. In recent years, Starlite
has contributed to ensuring thesafety and efﬁciency of on-site
work operations by developing‘eMET’, a helmet with an IoT-based
remote management system. Furthermore, the company released
Japan’s ﬁrst-ever biomass-based
helmets in June this year.
Moving forward, Starlite aims
to mobilize the power of thegroup to tackle
a w i d e ra n g eof problems forthe future of theplanet by addressing today’s social
issues with its
technologies andideas, and by cocreating with likeminded people.
https://starlite.co.jp

Eight Tool’s hexagon wrenches providing
quality across multiple industries
While manufacturing is becoming more automated, some processes can never be handled by machines. Eight Tool
provides the tools to ensure these processes are done with the highest level of precision.

“Our Excellent series of
products have specificquality standards
to ensure superior
performance.”
Yasuhiro Oka,
President, Eight Tool Co., Ltd.
“We provide high-quality products for superior performance andwork-cost efficiency,” says Eight Tool
president Yasuhiro Oka. “That is why
they’ve been accepted by industry
professionals for over six decades.”This is best demonstrated with its
unique alloy steel, SNCM+V, which“provides the ideal balance of hardness and torsional resistance thatis specifically suited for hexagon
wrenches,” explains Mr. Oka, while
another critical strength is the ‘fitness’ of the wrench heads to bolt
walls, “aiding wear resistance andtorsional power transmission.”

Excellent series from Eight Tool
“A unique and popular feature is Taper Head, an enhancedball-point function that enables

improvement and even moreglobal reach through new sales
and promotional partnerships.

Supporting industry professionals
globally
a wrench to be inserted into a bolt
cap from tilted angles. Countlesstests and redesigns, along with
our skilled engineers, result in
products in which our customers
can feel the difference.“
With a new production management system to maximize
workflow efficiencies and an eye
on automation, this small company with big dreams is striving
forwards, for continual product

Eight manufactures 2,000+
products to meet diverse needs“With our international partners, we try to learn local demands
and make sure to provide the best
suitable products possible, one
customer at a time.”

http://eight-tool.co.jp/en

Creating the lightweight steel cables pullingthe automotive industry forward

Chrysanthemum has over 60 years’ experience developing streamlined cables and demand
for them is set to boom as the automotive industry seeks lighter weight solutions.

HQ (Japan)“We strive to be an
attentive company
that provides detailedcare, sensing what ourcustomers need.”
Hisashi Kikugawa, President,
Chrysanthemum Co., Ltd.
In the automotive industry, theability to produce the lightest,
most streamlined products possible while ensuring strength isparamount, especially as the transition towards electric vehicles (EVs)marches on. One of the companies
working to make high-quality yet
lightweight components is Japan’s
Chrysanthemum Co., Ltd.

Founded in 1960, Chrysanthemum manufactures products in two
categories: stranded inner cables
and coated cables. The stranded
cables are mainly made of two materials, high carbon steel and stainless steel, and finished with zincplating (galvanizing) or the company’s special KIKU-GT finishing.

Steel cable
The cables are then coated with resin in response to customers’ need.
Chrysanthemum works to ensure its cables are as thin as pos-Vietnam plant
sible, as company president Hisashi
Kikugawa explains: “Cables cantransmit significant power without
taking up space, contributing tomaking cars lighter.”
The company’s best-selling
product-line is its stranded cables,
which are soft, flexible and durable, and its cables have a wide
range of uses, from window regulator systems to sliding doors.
In 2014, Chrysanthemum expanded by establishing a plantin Vietnam, and works on a twopronged strategy: developing
high-end value-added products
in Japan whilst also meeting
mass-production needs from its
base Vietnam.

As it continues to develop thinner, lighter products, Chrysanthemum is seeking to work with global
Tier 1 companies to discover their
specific needs and demands. As

Mr. Kikugawa says, the company’sslogan, ‘Be Attentive’, is at the foundation of all it does, from productdevelopment to customer service,
and ensures its business remains
as strong as the cables it produces.

www.chrysan.co.jp/english

Asahi Tekko: The kaizen kings leveraging
data for manufacturing innovation
Under the stewardship of President Tetsuya Kimura, auto parts manufacturer Asahi
Tekko has embraced DX to make changes that have transformed the company.

“Since my 2013 arrival, thecompany has transformed
through DX technologies.
We’ve already curtailed
the annual labor costby 3 million dollars andelectricity use by 22%.
In addition, we’ve begun
a transformation processfrom an auto parts manufacturer for TOYOTA to an
IT-focused enterprise.”

We needed a lot of effort to improvefactory efﬁciency: employees had
to take a lot of data, cycle times,
operating ratios, the reasons to
disturb production, and so on. I
wanted them to do only valueadded jobs and sought to gather
such data automatically.
“Now, using IoT technologies, iXacs automatically collects the data
we need 24 hours a day, seven daysa week. And it analyzes the data tovisualize issues in our productionlines. It accelerates kaizen drastically. As a result, we’ve alreadyA visualization of CO2 emission
data by factory areaand electricity usage,” Mr. Kimura
notes. “This data is used for improving factory management. For
example, we found that some fa-

Tetsuya Kimura, President,
Asahi Tekko Co., Ltd.
Since his arrival at Asahi Tekko, amajor automobile parts manufacturer with over 80 years’ experience, President Tetsuya Kimura has
set about implementing kaizen, or
continuous improvement, throughdigital transformation (DX).
“When I came from Toyota in
2013, I realized there were somemanagement problems, and thecompany was in a deﬁcit,” Mr. Kimura explains. “Without change, I knew
our company would not survive.”
He continues: “My basic philosophy is to let people do value-added
work. What I want for this company
is to develop the means to attainthat. The reason why we do kaizen

Asahi Tekko’s forging process
is to make a person’s work easier. DX
sounds complicated, but simply put,
it is using digital means to make aperson’s work easier.
“One great example is our internet of things (IoT) system iXacs.

iXacs transmitter and monitoring screen
curtailed the annual labor cost by cilities supplying compressed air toproduction machines had excessive
3 million dollars (vs 2013).”
As many countries, including Japan, performance at night, and so wetarget carbon neutrality by 2050, introduced more appropriate faciliAsahi Tekko’s kaizen activities are ties to reduce extra consumption.”contributing to this drive. “The global
trend is to have new facilities thatare more efﬁcient when it comes toelectricity, or to change to a renewableenergy source,” Mr. Kimura says. “Thecost for both of these options is veryhigh. This leads to less competitiveness, so companies are hesitant.
“However, we’ve noticed that kaizen CO2 emissions of a production
activity to improve productivity also line every hour
“Based on the TOYOTA Production
reduces energy consumption as a byproduct because it reduces the standby System philosophy, we can distinpower at the same time. By having guish net CO2 emissions from waste
this buffer, we’re able to invest in pur- by combining operational data andchasing renewable energy. For further electricity data. It shows us many
reduction, we’ve started to visualize emission issues clearly. The blue bars
(in the above graph) show net CO2
electricity consumption in real time.”
Digital data collection has been emissions and the red and orange
key to Asahi Tekko’s lower elec- ones show waste. The black line
tricity consumption. “We’re able shows net rate*,” adds Mr. Kimura.
“Now we are gaining a lot of
to directly measure each building
and area, to determine their gas data like this to reduce electricity

Discussion about an electricity
consumption graphthrough kaizen activity, and we’vealready reduced electricity by 22%compared to 2013 levels withoutbuying renewable energy or highefﬁciency machines.
The impact iXacs has had at Asahi Tekko has led the ﬁrm to create i
Smart Technologies, which it sells toother businesses as well as providingthem with consultants specialized insupporting kaizen processes. “Themission is to promote and transfer the success enjoyed by Asahi
Tekko to other Japanese companies
through IoT,” Mr. Kimura says.

Asahi Tekko has reduced electricity
consumption by 22% since 2013
“We provide our services to several different industries such as screw
manufacturers, chemical manufacturers and electrical component
manufacturers. Regardless of theindustry, these kaizen activities arebasically the same.”
Ultimately, the changes Mr. Kimura
has made at Asahi Tekko are all about
creating a happier, more productive
workforce. “As I mentioned before,
my philosophy is to let people do thework that is value-added,” he says.
“People’s working hours could be reduced, but there could be more value
added during that time. Through oursystems and technologies, we’d like tocontribute to that, so people can gohome early and be with their families.”
He concludes: “The company culture has changed, and people areenjoying their work more. That’s
something that’s lacking in many
Japanese companies. Hopefully we
can change that.”*net rate = net CO2 emissions/(net CO2 emissions + waste
emissions) x 100

www.asahi-tekko.co.jp

Hamaya Corporation: The recycling company of the future
As recycling becomes an ever-more important issue in today’s society, e-waste
specialist Hamaya Corporation is providing quality reuse and recycling solutions.
The digital revolution has led to an
explosion in the number of electronic devices we use on a daily basis, but what happens when thesedevices become obsolete? Japan’s
Hamaya Corporation, founded in
1991, is one of the companies
leading the way in the recyclingof ‘e-waste’. The Japanese firm,
which also focuses on used home
appliance exports and scrap metal,
works to ensure the uncountable
number of electronic devices being
produced are properly managed
through both reuse and recycling.

Printed circuit boards
Hamaya has been handling printed circuit boards from scrap electronic devices for several years andexpanded its purchasing from Japan to markets including Brazil, the“We want to develop
advanced recycling
technology and introduce
it into our business sector
in the future.”
Shigeru Kobayashi,
President,
Hamaya Corporation

Dismantling e-waste at NPO
HamayaPhilippines, Hong Kong, Singapore
and Brunei, among others. Company president Shigeru Kobayashi
understands the importance ofworking with local companies inforeign markets such as India andHamaya’s analysis center
Africa as “the most efficient strategy” and aims to move into markets
with high population densities toensure Hamaya can have the highest impact possible.
Hamaya has its own high-techanalysis center and result quality

Hamaya’s large crusher machine
database, which are used to ensure the printed circuit boards it
buys are optimum quality. These
circuit boards are then crushed
and delivered to a refining company, or in the case of its NPO
arm in Japan, scrap electronic
circuit boards are dismantled.
Mr. Kobayashi’s vision is to use
Hamaya’s strong standing in thebusiness of e-waste to help create an environmentally friendly
and sustainable society as global
commodity use skyrockets. As
he says: “E-waste needs to beproperly handled, so we carry the
responsibility of being a sociallyaware, eco-friendly company.”
www.hamaya-corp.co.jp

CALUX tackles cancer-causing dioxins
CALUX bioassay (Chemically Activated Luciferase Expression) is a simple and rapid
method for measuring dioxins and is attracting global attention as a green biotechnologythat reduces CO2 emissions by 92% as compared to the conventional method.

“The CALUX method cantackle cancer-causing
dioxins globally once it
becomes the international
standard method fordioxin measurement.”

time to break down once they arein the environment and so are foundthroughout the world, particularly in
the global food chain. Indeed, today
more than 90% of human exposureis through food, mainly meat, dairy
products, fish and shellfish. Highly
toxic, these compounds have been
linked to reproductive and developmental problems, as well as being a
cause of cancer.

Hiroshi Murata, President,
Hiyoshi Corporation
One of the major causes of environmental and social damage globallyis pollution. And there are some environmental pollutants such as dioxinsthat are hazardous to human health.
Dioxins are called persistent organic
pollutants (POPs) as they take a long

CALUX Bioassay for Dioxin Testing
In Japan, dioxins became a major social issue in the 1990s, andthe conventional HR-GCMS method
for analysis was expensive and time
consuming. Hence there was a needto find a simple and rapid method fordioxin analysis. Hiyoshi Corp. – which
specializes in environmental services– was one of the first to address
this issue by introducing the CALUX
bioassay in Japan. “In particular, we
focused on the field of measurement
to visualize dioxin emissions and pollution,” explains Hiroshi Murata, President of Hiyoshi Corporation.
Compared to the traditional HRGCMS method, the CALUX method
is rapid, sensitive and inexpensive. It
can measure dioxins in a wide variety
of media, including waste samples
such as emissions from incinerators,soot, and cinders; general environmental samples such as water, soil,
air, and sediment; biological samples
such as blood, breast milk, and fat;and food and feed samples.
In recent years, CALUX (H1L6.1c2)
and LUMI-CELL (VM7LucE2) havebeen introduced in California, U.S.A.,
as methods to measure AhR and ER
activity in recycled water. CALUX is
also being used in other applications

New Testing Building
besides dioxin measurement, suchas in the development of new drugs.
Having become an official methodin the United States, the EU, Japanand Taiwan, CALUX is now in line togain international standardization(ISO) certification.
“For developing nations in Asia,
constant monitoring of various
hotspots like open solid wasteburning sites, informal e-waste
recycling sites and industrial zones
can be achieved through CALUX
bioassay as it is a cost effective andrapid screening technique thereby
tackling the dioxins issue globally,”
says Mr. Murata.
www.hiyoshi-es.co.jp
908 Kitanosho, Omihachiman, Shiga, Japan