Hone Their Skills

 

One day, our company-wide morning meeting began with an award ceremony for two employees born in the 21st century who had passed the Level 2 Skills Certification Exam: Mr. K (far right) and Mr. I (second from the right).

 

Mr. K had been in Saudi Arabia until recently to install a Falcon machine and had just returned safely shortly before the current conflict began. Of course, he hadn’t anticipated that such an event would occur, so he was quite shocked when it actually happened.　Besides Mr. K, there were two others who had gone on the business trip with him. They returned even later than Mr. K, and the conflict began the very moment they got back. It was truly a relief that they were able to return safely. Great job, and welcome back!

 

The other successful candidate, Mr. I, isn’t very good at speaking in front of people. He was more nervous than anyone else—before he spoke, while he was speaking, and even after he finished. He gave it his all and expressed his gratitude to the seniors and colleagues who supported him leading up to the exam. Every time he stumbled over his words, I’m sure everyone at ISOWA-BITO was cheering for him in their hearts. After it was over, Mr. H, who was sitting next to me, seemed to be clapping from the bottom of his heart. I’m sure I’s feelings were clearly conveyed to everyone who attended the morning assembly. I think you’ll be able to do even better next time, Mr. I.

 

I look forward to seeing them continue to hone their technical skills and communication abilities. Congratulations, Mr. K and Mr. I.

 

And in this photo, besides Mr. K and Mr. I—the two on the right who passed the skills certification exam—and me (as a bonus), there’s one more person in the picture. It’s our new employee, Rudy.

 

It’s a bit unusual to have a new employee at this time of year, and he looks a little older than the typical new hire, doesn’t he?

 

Actually, he is the husband of Dharz, who joined our company last September. After obtaining a family stay visa, he finally arrived in Japan from the Philippines in mid-February.

 

At the company-wide morning meeting, following the presentation of the vocational skills certification awards, Rudy gave a self-introduction in Japanese. He said, “Work is fun, but self-introductions make me really nervous,” so he must have been quite nervous, but he managed to deliver a self-introduction in Japanese that was perfectly understandable. Bravo! Even though his wife, Dharz, had been introducing him to me as “Rudy” even before he arrived in Japan, apparently he himself says, “It’s not ‘Rudy.’ Please call me ‘Rody.’” I wonder if they’re having marital problems? (lol)

But when Rudy’s entry permit was approved, they apparently cried tears of joy together during a video call, and they seem so in love that there’s probably no need to worry about that.

 

He started working at ISOWA this week, but unfortunately, because he’s on a family stay visa, there are restrictions on his working hours, so he only works in the mornings. But he’s incredibly enthusiastic. Apparently, he asked, “I have time in the afternoons, so I’d like to go home and study. Would it be okay if I took the blueprints home with me?” Good for him! With guidance from such a wonderful colleague and by using translation software, let’s hope he masters the skills quickly.　I hear he’s enjoying his breaks with his colleagues. Study Japanese hard, get your official work visa, and do your best so that the day when you can live in Japan with your three children—your ultimate goal—comes as soon as possible! We’re all rooting for you. Go, go, Rudy!!

 

AI ou IA?

We were delighted to welcome four representatives from Company T in Brazil for the pre-shipment inspection of their new FALCON FFG. Andre from ISOWA Brazil guided them. I first met two of their top executives two years ago during a dinner at an industry show in Orlando, Florida. 

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This new order follows a machine they have been using for 30 years. It was truly heartening to hear them say, “the machine from 30 years ago is still working hard for us today.”

When they visited ISOWA on Friday, I unfortunately missed them due to my annual health checkup. However, I was able to join them for breakfast the next morning. When I asked for their impressions of the visit, they were incredibly gracious: “The machinery was excellent. But more than that, we learned so much from the ‘ISOWA-bito,’ the culture, and the overall atmosphere. As a family business ourselves, there was much we wanted to emulate.” It’s the greatest joy for me to have a customer show interest not only in the machines, but also in the unseen “iceberg beneath the surface”—our values and culture, that makes them possible. Our breakfast was filled with insightful questions about ISOWA’s philosophy and my management style.

During our conversation, we stumbled upon a funny topic regarding the acronym “IA.” At ISOWA, “IA” stands for ISOWA America. However, in Brazil, “IA” refers to Artificial Intelligence! In Portuguese, it is Inteligência Artificial, so the initials are reversed compared to English (AI). They joked that they sometimes get ISOWA America and Artificial Intelligence mixed up. Well, perhaps that’s because ISOWA America is just as smart as AI! (laughs)

They kindly invited me to visit Brazil, and I gave them one condition: “It must be during the futbol season. Please don’t invite me during the off-season!” (laughs). If all goes well, I might be watching an authentic futbol match in Brazil for the first time in six years. I have a lot to look forward to!

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Talking with the young, new generation of leadership from Company T was truly stimulating. Whether in Japan or Brazil, I believe management that truly values people is the path to success.

Thank you so much for traveling from the other side of the world to visit us!

Let' work smarter!

Last week, three members from ISOWA America—Ron, Kaiser, and Andy—visited Japan to attend the annual meeting.

ISOWA America delivered very strong performance in the previous fiscal year (October 2024 to September 2025).

Repeat orders from existing customers increased, while new customers were acquired as a result of our strong market reputation. Furthermore, delivery records across North and South America expanded, and the parts and service business continued to grow.

Rather than resting on these achievements, we spent four days in intensive and productive discussions focused on driving cultural reform at ISOWA America, overcoming the impact of Trump-era tariffs, and achieving further growth. These discussions were extremely meaningful.

As this was Andy’s first visit to Japan, being able to directly experience ISOWA’s culture and corporate spirit will surely prove valuable in his future career at ISOWA. It is also very encouraging to see the growing number of members who have previously been stationed at ISOWA America, as they are contributing greatly to stronger communication between Japan and the U.S.

On the final evening, we held a dinner to thank everyone for their efforts.

Apparently, Kaiser’s daughter is very curious about what her father eats in Japan, so he took photos of every dish as it was served.

He usually avoids desserts for health reasons, but when he comes to Japan, he can’t resist the temptation. Wanting to keep this a secret from his family, I suggested, “Then why don’t you just take a photo of the last remaining strawberry?”

He happily did just that (laughs).

Kaiser—the George Clooney of ISOWA America—is a favorite with everyone.

 

At the end, we received some souvenirs: two kinds of organic tea.

Ron shared the story behind them.

“If you drink the one on the left, ‘Memory Magic,’ 99% of the time your mind will feel clear. Still worried about the remaining 1%? No problem—just drink the one on the right, ‘Worry Ease,’ and it will blow your anxiety away.”

I see! Just like strategy, a good story matters even for souvenirs. I’ll follow your advice and choose accordingly. Thank you!

 

Let’s work smart!

ISOWA keeps you going - always on the go to make folks happy in the corrugated world.

"Shrine visit” for GOD PARENTS

 

Yoshiko was s classmate of mine at the Affiliated Upper Secondary School of Nagoya University. However, I don’t have any clear memories of her from that time.

At a class reunion after we graduated, I learned that she was working as a translator, and we wondered if I might ask for her help someday.

The first time I did was when I asked her to help revise the ISOWA Diary, which Hitomi and Hikaru had translated.

That was in 2010, when we were working on the phrase:

“ISOWA keeps you going – always on the go.”

My first draft, by the way, was:

“We, ISOWA never stop you. Nor do we stop ourselves.”

I struggled with the wording for some time and eventually asked her for advice. Then John joined the discussion. John was a journalist and a former reporter for The Japan Times.

After exchanging ideas with the two of them, we finally settled on:

“ISOWA keeps you going – always on the go.”

 

More recently, I asked for their help again, this time in naming a new machine.

This kind of collaborative work is truly enjoyable. Not only in this case, but in general, the process of repeatedly exchanging ideas and refining concepts is extremely fun.

That’s how we came up with an absolutely brilliant name. I’ll share the details once the machine is complete.

Welcome, everyone, from all over the world!

Many customers from overseas visited ISOWA this past week, so let me do the honors to introduce them to you.

 

First, is Company C from the United States.

Everyone from their family came to visit the company to see the Flexo Gluer machine “IBIS” before we ship it.

 

This machine “IBIS” marks our first transaction with them; however, even before shipment, they placed an additional order for another machine, the “Falcon.”

 

They said that the reason for this was "not only ISOWA's quality, but also the high reputation of ISOWA's after-sales service among our American competitors."

 

I was very pleased with this answer, as I believe it was one of the results of ISOWA's strategy of "contributing to reducing opportunity loss in the corrugated board factories."

ISOWA members shared their own stories in English during the “Discover ISOWA” tour.

Whenever they shared their own stories, the customers extend their hands for a handshake, and by that I felt that our message had truly reached them.

 

What surprised me the most was the company introduction given by Ms.D, who joined ISOWA two months ago.

As soon as the introduction was over, the customers cheered, and I was amazed at how she was able to understand ISOWA and give such a brilliant introduction in just two months.

We will continue to do our best to maintain a good relationship with Company C across generations.

 

The second company is Company H from the United Arab Emirates.

This was also our first transaction with Company H, who ordered two machines at once.

 

 

They visited ISOWA for the first time to see the first machine before we ship it.

 

In Japan, corrugated printers are typically three- or four-color printers; however, they ordered a high-end six-color printer.

 

This time, we tested only four-color printing, and the customers were satisfied with the results.

 

During their visit to Japan, Mr. O from the Overseas Sales Department accompanied them throughout their visit.

He made a multiple solo-visits to the Dubai-based company with which he has no prior business transactions, and was able to successfully secure an order for two machines at once.

 

They said, "Mr. O is a great salesman. He makes proposals that anticipate our needs. We trusted him and decided to do business with ISOWA."

 

They added, "By actually coming to Japan and visiting ISOWA, our trust in them has deepened even further."

 

To the ISOWA members who attended to the customers, who shared their own stories, who did perfect test runs, and who welcomed them, thank you all for this week!

Jubun-gatari (self-introduction) expressing gratitude to my parents

 

This year, we were able to successfully hold the parent-meeting of our new employees once again.

We have a total of ten new employees this term which includes five people from the Philippines.

Among them, four families attended the event. Ideally, we would have liked to invite the families in the Philippines as well, but we hope to make that possible someday.

 

First, I greeted the families.

  

“ISOWA had only one person leave the company this year, aside from those who retired at the mandatory retirement age. This is one of the results of the organizational culture reform that we have been working on for more than twenty years. We are hoping that your children will help us further cultivate and strengthen this culture.”

After that, Hikaru gave an explanation about the company, and he also said, “There’s still a lot we need to work on to further improve our culture, so let’s keep doing our best together.” 

 

From here, the new employees began sharing their own stories. First was N from e-Technical Service Section.

 

When he told his parents, “I’ve been assigned to a business trip to Aomori,” his father reacted in surprise, saying, “I’ve never even been to Aomori myself!”

Next was T from e-Technical Service Section as well.

 

His father said to me, “I’m proud of my son.”

His mother looked as if she was holding back a few tears.

 

Next, Mr. O from Administration Section.

He told his mother, “I’m enjoying it even more than I expected, so please don’t worry too much.”

In the factory, Mr. I from the Assembly Section said,

“I know I’ve caused you a lot of worry until now,” and he vowed to repay his parents for all they’ve done.

 

And today, Ms. O from the Support Section, whose parents were unable to attend,

together with Mr. I from the Processing Section, introduced the six-color printing machine “Falcon” and demonstrated its operation.

 

After returning to the office, everyone enjoyed some casual conversation.

 

Then, the new employees guided their parents freely around the company, showing them their workplaces and other areas.

The messages from the new employees to their parents were truly wonderful.
I believe their parents were also able to get a sense of ISOWA’s atmosphere.
We hope you will continue to support both your children and ISOWA.
Thank you very much.

 

A little bit bitter?

 

Erik from ISOWA America (IA) visited ISOWA Japan during his visit to his wife Fumi-san’s hometown.

 

He loves Japan and learned the Japanese language and translation studies at university. After he graduated, he came to Japan and taught English as an ALT at a junior high school in Kobe. He and Fumi-san came to know each other at that time. They got married and returned to the U.S.

 

He joined IA because his hometown is near Phoenix, where IA is located, and he likes IA’s Japanese-style corporate culture.

 

He respects Donald Keene, who tried to be a cultural bridge between America and Japan. He also reads Haruki Murakami’s books. He is a true Japanophile, more knowledgeable than the average Japanese person.

 

Beer and Yakitori (Japanese grilled chicken skewers). Super Cool!

 

 

He gave me a surprising souvenir.

Cigar. Was it really for me? (I am not a smoker.)

 

Actually, it was not a cigar but a chocolate!

 

A little bit bitter like a real one?

 

No, no, it was sweet!

Now I can enjoy it without worry!

 

Erik, enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan. When you go back, let’s keep “making folks happy in the corrugated world” on the Asian side and the American side of the Pacific Ocean. :)