Date : February 10, 2009
Video Report:February 10, 2009【”Local Economy defeating Global Recession” Press Tour】
post date : 2013.08.24
■Experienced craftsmanship and creativity undaunted by the recession
~world-class small and medium-sized companies in Saitama~ （February 10, 2009）
◆Manufacturing Industry during the Recession
KEISWI Inc. (President and Craftsman Mr. Keiichi Sugano)
--- A craftsman making interior apparatus for airplanes such as Boeing, Airbus, and Shinkansen bullet trains.
Launched the original brand “AERO CONCEPT” in 2003, producing briefcases and small goods such as card cases and key chains, using advantage of his high skills in precision processing. ---
It’s becoming a world recession now….
To tell the truth we are having a hard time.
We usually have orders for the Boeing 787 aircraft from all over the world. But because of the world recession, they seem not to have finished test flights and seem unable to pursue production….
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SUMITA Optical Glass, Inc. (Vice President Masatoshi Sumita)
--- A pioneer company engaged in optical glass and optical fiber business. SUMITA dominates the market share of aspheric lenses, which are mainly used for digital cameras.
With their motto, “R&D is vital”, they have been developing many of the world’s first products.
We are having a very tough time.
People don’t buy cameras during this recession and sales of glass and lenses used for cameras are really slow.
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Kyodoshoji Corp. Ltd., COEDO Brewery (Vice President Mr. Shigeharu Asagiri)
--- A beer maker that produces the high grade premium beer “Beniaka”, from Kawagoe sweet potato. They are bringing new enjoyment to beer-drinking with this high quality ‘craft beer’ made with skills acquired of a Germany craftsman. ---
I regret to say that in Japan it is really hard to succeed in mass production.
Labor costs, land prices and utilities of all kinds are expensive.
These high costs are causing melt down in the anufacturing industry and right now the service industry accounts for 90 percent…
◆Craftsmanship- just like ”Conceiving life”
KEISWI Inc. (Mr. Keiichi Sugano, President)
Our company has been running since my grandfather’s time.
15 years ago, our factory went bankrupt due to the management failure of one of our customers.
I have spent a few days thinking “Today will be the day that I commit suicide…. ”
Our factory had gone bankrupt but my grandfather and my father both had very high skills.
One of our customers told us “I won’t let you go. You must keep on producing.” That’s why we moved here.
Why do people like our products?
Well, I do believe my soul is in them.
I have the will to make what I want to make from the bottom of my heart and the will to make what I want to have by the time I die.
These feelings may probably have been shared with the customers who have bought our bags and our products.
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SUMITA Optical Glass, Inc. (Mr. Masatoshi Sumita, Vice President)
We have been making our products not just for selling but to fulfill our will of “wanting to make what does not exist in the world”.
That’s why we approach our clients by showing our products and figuring out how they would make use of them.
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Kyodoshoji Corp. Ltd., COEDO Brewery (Mr. Shigeharu Asagiri, Vice President)
I think if a craftsman makes products just as he would raise a child, such as carefully examining the materials, he will certainly produce a different quality than that of mass production.
That is one aspect of our competitiveness in the beer industry.
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◆The power of R&D is the key
SUMITA Optical Glass, Inc. (Masatoshi Sumita, Vice President)
Our R&D section develops something really new.
From the outside it may seem like we are doing the same thing over and over again. However, inside our company we are aggressively changing.
My grandfather started business 100 years ago.
Our company first started from selling products we bought then moved to selling what we manufactured and now have changed to making glass itself.
We are making lenses for cameras but we are not concentrating only on that.
If we are making glass, we could make fiber out of glass and if we make fiber, we could figure out other possible uses. We are consistently continuing this process.
Generally, people do not set out to develop new skills but we have been continuing to pursue new skills.
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KEISWI Inc. (Mr. Keiichi Sugano, President)
The ideas of these shapes come from what we see every day; parts of airplanes and aircraft.
These airplane parts have the concept of “the lighter the stronger the better”.
One day the idea struck me of using these parts on bags.
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Kyodoshoji Corp. Ltd., COEDO Brewery (Mr. Shigeharu Asagiri Vice President)
Beer is a very traditional industry.
We can use beer as a source of genetic data since it stores characteristics of the yeasts.
So, all we have to do is to procure yeasts from all over the world.
◆Craftsman’s way of manufacturing-Anti-mass production consumption
Kyodoshoji Corp. Ltd., COEDO Brewery Mr. Shigeharu Asagiri Vice President
Big beer breweries must make their products within about 3 weeks. However, our company’s attitude towards beer is different; we put more effort into just making good delicious beer while others pursue efficiency to make cheap beer quickly.
Of course our products cost more but we explain to our customers about our concepts. Then, they would change their attitude toward beer and would pay for the extra cost.
I think this is one of our answers towards craftsman way of manufacturing.
In other words, there are customers that would approve the way of making products that is not just pursuing efficiency.
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KEISWI Inc. (Mr. Keiichi Sugano, President)
There are requests from clients to make products quick and cheap.
However, I don’t think that would lead to leaving good products in the world.
I think the product’s value lies when you use it long enough that it becomes like your friend or your partner whom you can’t bear to be parted from. This love toward the product is what makes it so valuable.
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SUMITA Optical Glass, Inc. (Masatoshi Sumita, Vice President)
Other companies tend to move toward making cheap products. Our company may be the only company in the world that is trying to make new types of glass.
◆The biggest recession in the history of postwar, however….
KEISWI Inc. (Mr. Keiichi Sugano, President)
We 12 craftsmen take pleasure in our work.
I believe it is best to work with love for what you can take seriously and what really pleases customers.
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Kyodoshoji Corp. Ltd., COEDO Brewery (Mr. Shigeharu Asagiri Vice President)
I want to propose beer carefully made by craftsman as a new word “craft beer” and not as a “local beer”.
I hope this will mobilize the power of 200 companies including ours to offer customers the pleasure of “choosing” beer.
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SUMITA Optical Glass, Inc. Masatoshi Sumita, Vice President
(This economic recession) I think is the biggest ever.
I presume the impact on the world is equivalent to when 3 or 4 atomic bombs burst at the same time.