Propelling, a newsletter from Okayama, Japan, spotlights the hidden allure of propellers and aims to steer the world’s ships, and their world, one step into the future
Nakashima People Vol. 5
Fuminori Kanashima    Senior Director, Sales and Marketing, Nakashima Asia Pacific Fuminori Kanashima manages the local subsidiary in Singapore, NAPAC, which plays a central role in Nakashima's business expansion in Asia. The name “Kanashima” on his business card is often mistaken for "Nakashima". "I no longer try to correct people," he said, laughing, perhaps reflecting his sense of responsibility and pride that comes from working as the face for Nakashima in Asia. We asked Fuminori, who continues to search for new markets in Asia, about his acquired skills in business development and his vision for his endeavours in Asia.
Q, What is Nakashima's appeal?
My father, who was a signboard craftsman, used to draw letters and designs with precision and balance, based on his experience and instinct. As a child, I was proud of him and wanted to grow up to work with a skill that other people did not have. Though craftsmen’s skills are still important in the signboard industry, computer-aided design and printing technology has supplanted some of this work. And of course, this phenomenon is not limited to the signboard industry. Though Nakashima has invested unsparingly in state-of-the-art supercomputers and fabricating equipment, it has also protected and preserved its craftsmanship for finishing touches over the past 90 years. The company's attention to detail extends even to the smallest discrepancies, such as a one-hundredth of a millimetre roughness on a propeller’s surface, which only an experienced worker's hands can feel. Nakashima also continues to offer built-to- order production, going against the trend of many other manufacturers that have stopped such production in order to prioritise efficiency. I believe these all contribute to the delicate quality of Nakashima's propellers and services.
Q. What skills do you rely on in securing sales?
There is no special secret to it. I tend to listen carefully to what customers have to say. If they are trying to solve a problem in an area outside of Nakashima's expertise, I try as much as possible to find a solution, even if it means co-operating with an outside party. Over time this approach has resulted in business deals. I venture to say that my skill in business development is to sell without selling, with the premise that our offerings are of state-of-the-art quality.
Q.  What does the South-east Asia market mean for
Nakashima?
As you know, the region is full of activity, with many young people and the energy for further growth. To support this dynamism, the need for reliable, sustainable marine transportation will only increase, given that most countries in the region are island nations or peninsulas. I believe the role Nakashima can and should play in this region is huge and is not just limited to the economy. Nakashima can support marine transportation with solutions that take into account the whole, including the costs and the environment, throughout a ship's entire life cycle. Given the outlook for development in the region, there are more important things to focus on besides the immediate price tag. I believe that a key part of my role is to share this aspect with the people in the region.
Q.  What will you be doing beyond Nakashima's 100th
anniversary?
I am inspired to take our business to places where Nakashima is not known. In 10 years' time, I may be going not just to South-east Asia, but to South America and Africa. Fortunately, no matter how much mobility over land and air develops, it will not be able to replace marine transportation, which is capable of efficiently transporting large volumes of goods. As demands grow for a ship's performance, such as adherence to regulations on sulphur oxide emissions, Nakashima quality will only be more desirable—and I will certainly be looking into an even busier future. ■
Nakashima's Aesthetics
Propellers that are kind even to whales President Motoyoshi Nakashima used such an expression to describe the environmental performance Nakashima seeks in its products. When the propeller is perfected, giant tankers will become part of the sea’s ecosystem right along with whales. Nakashima envisages creating a new global standard for ships with the aesthetic and technology that places value on intangible differences.
INTROSPECTION — JAPANESE INNOVATION
Towards a True Mobility Revolution
Companies from wide-ranging sectors are banding together to create a mobility revolution. Innovators from sectors as diverse as automobiles, information and communication technology, and robotics are developing new mobility tools and services such as self-driving cars, ultra-compact electric vehicles and drone taxis equipped with artificial intelligence and other advanced technology that, along with the spread of sharing services, have the potential to dramatically enhance personal mobility. The development of this new mobility ecosystem could raise the quality of life and save ageing and rural communities, and even our planet. Robotic wheelchairs, for example, have the potential to provide greater freedom to those such as elderly or disabled people living in rural areas with limited public transport facilities. While helping to re-activate these residents as socio-economic players, the universally designed robotic mobility can act as a new tourist attraction and as a catalyst to foster high-value-added tourism activities, which can reinvigorate diminishing communities. As another example, we can expect cutting-edge electric vehicles to help us minimise environmental damage through better capacity to adopt a range of renewable energies. But while these new mobility tools hold a lot of promise, this revolution is nonetheless built on human-centric innovations, a feature of modern civilisation in which the human-nature divide is marked and development is keyed to human desires to control and overcome nature. This type of "progress" has prompted a worldwide call for sustainability, but on our current trajectory this goal is still more a dream than a realistic target. Still, there is another possibility for the mobility revolution. Advanced mobility can be designed to act as a tool to restore the intimate relationship between humans and nature—just like the "small architecture" advocated by architect Kengo Kuma (see Issue 2), which is designed to be in tune with its surrounding natural environment and nature's cycles. Bringing back this essential balance can allow an organic infrastructure to emerge, along with an ecosystem in which all elements thrive as one. Such a change, to create a future that is not simply an extension of the present, would be worthy of being called a true "revolution". One dreams of a future where the whole organic body of people and nature as one sustainably prospers. ■ The original article was in Japanese. Written by Yaoyorozu-ING

We Go Beyond
Headquartered in Japan's Setouchi region, the centre of the country's shipbuilding industry, Nakashima Propeller is a manufacturer of marine propulsion equipment boasting a leading share in marine propellers. Having started as a foundry for fishing boat propellers, the company has continued to pursue innovation in the capability of propellers to deliver security, safety and comfort. It will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026. A ship's optimal state is found when it is viewed from the propeller, the centre of propulsive functions. With this fresh perspective, Nakashima Propeller seeks to offer a full range of services catering to each ship's entire life cycle while achieving fuel efficiency to reduce the burden on the environment. Nakashima Propeller works to contribute to the world, beyond the realm of its industry.
■ OUR STRENGTHS
JAPANESE QUALITY
Nakashima Propeller offers refined in-house capabilities in design and manufacturing. Using a high-performance computer with a 5000 core large-scale processor, Nakashima's craftsmen create a blueprint based on data accumulated from a world-class production history of 1 million propellers. Moreover, with its unique manufacturing skills that integrate cutting-edge technology and experienced craftsmanship, Nakashima is fully equipped to delicately reflect design in manufacturing and deliver reliable Japanese-quality products.
CUSTOMISED PRODUCTION
The propeller is at the centre of optimising propulsion performance—and a hundred different vessels will have a hundred different propellers. Rather than pursuing efficiency as a manufacturer, Nakashima takes pride in its commitment to build-to-order production, designing and manufacturing optimal propellers for each unique ship under an integrated production system.
CUTTING-EDGE USE OF SMART TECHNOLOGY
Nakashima's smart technology is able to define the shape of the high-efficiency propeller's complex three-dimensional, curved surface. By increasing the surface area of machining with adjustments such as modification of the trailing edge, a process requiring special craftsmanship is simplified and speedy production without dispersion is achieved.
SERVICE ANY TIME, ANY PLACE
Nakashima Propeller promptly responds to propeller damage by sending repair engineers from its worldwide network to your site. Nakashima takes into account various conditions such as the ship's fuel efficiency, course and degradation due to ageing to propose solutions such as edge modification, fuel-saving polishing and retrofit, providing detailed support throughout the ship's entire life cycle.
OUR SERVICES
Nakashima Propeller designs and manufactures marine propellers (FPP and CPP), thrusters, energy-saving devices for the stern and CFRP propellers. We also offer a full range of after-sales service, including repair of damaged propellers, edge modification, fuel-saving polishing, support of propulsion equipment for ships in operation and optimisation of propulsion performance for fuel efficiency. *We provide propellers for ULCS, VLCC, VLOC, VLGC, LNG/LPG-carriers, PCC, cruise ships, working boats, coastal vessels, research vessels and coast guard vessels. *Our services satisfy requirements for all major classification certificates (including ice-class) "World-recognised Japanese quality cannot be described solely in terms of mechanical precision or reproducibility. Lacquerware  used at the dinner table, Japanese knives that are indispensable to create Japanese delicacies—only with the deep commitment and thorough experience of the people who make them can the full potential of such products be unleashed. Our propellers embody the same spirit of Japanese quality. " —H. Kubo, general manager, innovation section, Nakashima Propeller
■ EVENTS
SMM - Hamburg, Germany, 4-7 September 2018 SEATRADE MARITIME MIDDLE EAST - Dubai, UAE, 29-31 October 2018 METS TRADE - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 13-15 November 2018 INTERNATIONAL WORKBOAT  SHOW - New Orleans, USA, 28-30 November 2018
NAKASHIMA PROPELLER CO., LTD.
688-1, Joto-Kitagata, Higashi-ku, Okayama, 709-0625, JAPAN +81 86 279 5111 npcwebmaster@nakashima.co.jp https://propelling.jp Japan • Singapore • Vietnam • Philippines • China Korea • Taiwan • U.S.A. • Brazil • Turkey • U.K. • Namibia • UAE Propelling, Issue 5 (31 July 2018) Produced by Yaovorozu-ING Company Co., Ltd. Photo by Takumi Ota [P1, P4], Makoto Tomioka [P2] Copyright 2018 NAKASHIMA PROPELLER Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.