Flowers will bloom

One of the customers I visited in Thailand last week is staying in Japan this week for training on the machine they purchased.

He is still young but very eager to learn Japanese and our management style.

Since he was so curious about Japanese culture, I decided to treat him in a Japanese way.

First of all, I invited him to my house and had my wife show him Japanese calligraphy.

The reason we chose this phrase was his name.

His name is Kittisak.

It sounds similar to the phrase “きっと咲くKitto Saku”.

This phrase is translated into English,

　“I am sure flowers will bloom.”

And in Japan, flowers blooming is often likened to “Success”

So this is also a message to him, “I am sure you will be successful!”


Then we went to dinner. I picked a very traditional Japanese restaurant.

The hostesses were so kind that they gave us a detailed explanation of the food and place, and they even showed us a Shamisen performance.

Every time they served a dish, they seemed worried if he would like it.

But in spite of their worries, he kept eating up all the dishes.

We were surprised at how much he likes Japanese food.

According to him, he eats Natto every morning even in Thailand.

I’ve never seen anyone who likes Natto so much!

At the end of dinner, they showed us around their tea room which was built 300 years ago.

He was excited to know that fact.

And he got even more excited when he found a small entrance.

He looked very satisfied after trying getting out and coming in through the door.

During the dinner, I got so many questions from him about my own management philosophy and how I relate to the employees. Our conversation literally never ended.

I hope he enjoyed “Discover ISOWA Tour” and “Discover Japan Tour”.

And I hope our relationship that has just begun will last a long time.

Thank you so much for your visit, Kittisak-san!

Behind the Successful Ones

We commended successful applicants for National Trade Skill Test 2015 in a monthly morning assembly.

Mr. T, Mr. N and Mr. H passed 2nd Grade Machine Assembly Finishing.
Mr. M got a 1st Grade Machining certificate even though he didn’t have a 2nd Grade.

I knew they were working so hard for this every day after everyone else was gone. 
Congratulations to you all. You deserve it.

But I want to remind you that behind this, there are many other people who worked so hard but didn’t get the results they wanted.

“It’s great to pass the test. 
But what matters more is the effort you put into it in the process.
Whether you pass it or not. Sometimes it depends on luck.
Everyone who tried deserves praise.”

That’s what an external trainer who has been coaching our mechanics said to me.

Mr. T has just been transferred to the sales department.
But he was still passionate enough to take this chance.
He must be the first sales man with a Second -Class technical skills license.

I love this aggressive attitude.

I hope more people will be inspired by this to try themselves.

Especially, all the woman workers have a chance to be the first to get a license in the ISOWA’s history. I hope this will happen in the not too distant future, too.

Again, congratulations to the four of you!

And thank you to all who took the test for your effort!

New Plant Unveils

The plant construction is well underway.

Let me show you some pictures from the end of the 2015.

This day we had “truss installation”.

The combination of a number of triangles helps support the roof and strengthen the whole building.

This structure was used widely in the plant design before.

But as computers automatically gives you the optimized design which has the best strength these days, the number of the buildings with this structure has been decreasing.

Those trusses make it possible for the plant to stand without any columns in the middle of it.

That is one of the good things about it, of course.

But, most importantly, it’s beautiful!

When I was seeing the truss being set in place, I found a guy walking on the truss as if he was walking on the ground.

“The project I was working on before this was a 10-story apartment building. That’s why I’m used to be working in high places,” the guy said.

That’s something I will never get used to!

And about 2 months later, it looks totally different now.

With shutters in ISOWA color, now you can imagine the whole picture.

As the construction proceeds, I can feel the excitement in the air at ISOWA.

“When the plant is ready, it is our turn to make the most of it!”

“I can’t wait to work in there.”

“With machines in it, it would look even more majestic.”

The plant is coming to its completion slowly but steadily.

Please look forward to further updates!