Thank you for your kind words, Justin.

One of the most important companies in America for us, the company L, was featured on an American trade magazine (the article spanned 9 pages!).

The company was founded in 1882 by the current president, Justin’s great-grandfather. And it means they have a 130 year history. America is the country of origin of cardboard, so that its history is different from that of Japan. And now, they have 3 factories in the Midwestern United States.

The article introduces the company’s history, the scale expansion and capital investment flow of the last 10 years. Also the relationship between the company and ISOWA was written in detail.

They had purchased our printing machine “Falcon” in 2009 (it was the first installation in the North American market), from then, an Ibis, a single facer and a second Falcon were installed on one after another.

More than that, the company L is the one of the American showcase customers of ISOWA because many other customers from not only America but also South America had visited them and seen how our machine works. Thankfully company L’s members use our machine so well, nearly every customer purchased an ISOWA machine after visiting them. 

A network of cardboard companies centered on company L’s achievements, and word of mouth from there has outstanding reliability in the industry. The success of ISOWA in the American market today cannot be said without Justin and the company L.

Here is an excerpt from the article. 

Thank you again for a wonderful recommendation through the article, Justin! Let’s keep building good relationships.

After all, it's "dialogue" ！

The annual meeting with ISOWA America was held yesterday.

Previously, Ron, the company's president, came to ISOWA in Japan from the United States. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we held an online meeting again this year as we did last year.

 

It was an online meeting in English, so I was more careful than our regular meetings. We tried a new style this year to not interrupt the flow of conversations and our thoughts.

We decided to gather view-only attendees in one room and place an interpreter to translate point by point during the meeting.

Ms. T, our overseas sales representative, had a significant impact there.

She was on the front left.

 

The role of interpreting is challenging, but I thought it would be more of a learning opportunity for her, so I appointed Ms. T. 

After the meeting, I said to Ms. T, "Thank you for your hard work."

"I learned a lot in many ways!"

Mr. T responded me with a very positive reaction.

The meeting participants also said, "Thanks to Mr. T, we were able to understand the contents."

It was a tough job that required paying lots of attention and focusing, but she did a great job. 

Thank you, Ms. T.

After the meeting, I talk with Ron, the president of ISOWA America.

That's right; we had a dialogue.

ISOWA's action guideline is 『スピードと対話』- "Speedo to Taiwa."

When I started this motto, I thought about how to express it in English. 

I was thinking "Speed and Dialogue." 

But after consulting with ISOWA America, it was translated as 

"Quickness and Interaction."

In other words, "Taiwa" is "interaction."

But now, I wonder if "Dialogue" was better. There is also the term "Interactive Dialogue."

The conversation I had with Ron was precisely a "dialogue."

Ron is a pretty deep thinker, so I think I would be a perfect dialogue partner if I spoke English more fluently.  I wish we could have done better. 

 

Even so, I was able to have a good "dialogue" with him because at the end he said, "I've been thinking about this problem lately, and it has given me a headache, but this has helped."

I gave him a quote (my creation), similar to the well-known quote, "Necessity is the mother of invention."   "Ron, Headache is the mother of chance.”

After all, “Dialogue” is a good thing.

P.S.

Ron lost his voice the next day, probably because he made such an impassioned speech.

Amazing Cardboard Art “Magician Robot’s Magic Lab-”

One of our customers introduced a wonderful artist who creates moving corrugated art crafts.

His name is Yoshikazu Senkoji.

http://papyrusworld.net/en/designer/7419/

Two months ago, I went to his exhibition. I was really inspired by his elaborate and sophisticated workmanship. 

Look at this. The gears are very artistic.

 

They are made of corrugated sheets and wear away even though the power transmission is small. So, Mr. Senkoji uses special reinforced sheets. I like it even more because the corrugated sheets are produced by our corrugator machine. haha

I bought the most favorite one whose title is “Magician Robot’s Magic Lab-”.

Since I fell in love with the artwork the first time I saw it, I later noticed that I didn’t ask anything about it. I contacted Mr. Senkoji and received some explanations as follows.

“When I held an exhibition in 2018, I met a professional table magician. He liked my artworks and suggested that he would perform a magic show at my next exhibition.

I was sure that children who come to the exhibition would get excited. I answered, ’Let’s organize an event! I will create a new artwork which features magic’.

I imagine that my robot characters become professional magicians. Every day, they are doing magic training at the laboratory.”

He is practicing the card magic with the ace of hearts.

There are spades, diamonds and clubs inside the gears.

The snake charmer.

The levitation.

The cutting illusion. 

“I created the corrugated art with my playful imagination in 2019. The magic event turned out to be successful.

I’m sorry that I held this kind of event only once because of the pandemic.

Like this episode shows, someone gives me a new theme and it broadens my art world. I really get motivated by the serendipity.”

Are you curious about how it works?

If so, please check the video.

I display it at the end of the west side of ISOWA Street in the office. I hope that you will visit our company and enjoy seeing it!

What do you want to do when you come back to Japan?

Mr. F is an electrical engineer who has been stationed in ISOWA America since the spring of 2018. Originally, he had planned to return to Japan when he finished his term, and as Mr. Y takes over his position this past spring. However, Mr. F’s term was extended for six months due to some shortage of staffing as the business in the U.S. is doing well.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. F had not been able to return to Japan for quite a long time. So, I had him return to Japan as summer vacation for his best work for the remaining few months in the States. Even when he was finally able to return to Japan, he was 　required to quarantine for two weeks. When he arrived at Kansai International Airport, his father picked him up by car, and they went straight to his parents' house on Awaji Island.   He stayed home, quarantined, for two whole weeks.

It is almost time for him to return to America. Before he left, Mr. F visited the ISOWA office. After listening to him about his work in the United States, I thought, "This is an opportunity to challenge him" and intentionally asked, "What kind of work do you want to try when you come back with your experiences in the United States?" I said that because I also wanted him to have a purpose for the remaining months of his stay.

He said, "I have been thinking about this," as he showed me a document that was summarized in six pages. He already had his thoughts and immediately showed them in a document. 　　He was one step ahead of me…

I was impressed. It may sound easy, but not many people can do it. 

Furthermore, what he wanted to do was a convincing theme, so I was even more amazed.  How wonderful! I didn’t want my surprise to seem disrespectful to him.

I talked to other members about this right away and held a quick meeting.

I told him, "Don't say ‘when I return to Japan’, please share your suggestions even while you are in the United States."

Oh, of course, all of us were wearing masks during these conversations.

 

Mr. F has become even tougher in three years.

I'm really looking forward to his future success!

금연(geum-yeon)

Do you know a Korean word, 금연 Geum-yeon?

In the drama “Dae Jang Geum”, which is the only Korean drama I’ve watched, Geum-young (금영) is a rival for the main character Seo Jang-geum.

But here, I am not talking about “Geum-young” from the Korean show. 

Currently in South Korea, we have an on-going installation project of a whole corrugator line, whose length reaches 100 meters long. 

The first group of the installation crews left Japan in the middle of June.

Then following the second and third group have left Japan in July and the remaining 3 groups will leave Japan by the end of August.

A total of 17 members will join the 3-month long installation. 

Even though the number of Covid-19 cases is low around the customer’s factory which is far away from the city, the Korean government carefully manages visitors from abroad and requires them to self-quarantine at the hotel designated by the Korean government for 2 weeks.

The other day our third group finished self-quarantine and then joined the installation work.

Hoping for our staff’s health and safety, I sent a message to them on their first day of work.

Then I received a reply from one of them saying:

“I feel so exhausted today. Without any physical activities for 2 weeks, I lost much of my physical strength. I’m really surprised at this physical breakdown I’ve never experienced before. While taking my condition into account, I’ll do my best as a representative of ISOWA to avoid any injuries during this work.”

From his following messages, it turns out that one is not allowed to get out of the room at all, and moreover, they are not allowed to drink alcohol or smoke during the entire self-quarantine period.

It’s like torture especially for those who like to drink or smoke.

But if you are willing to take this opportunity and stop smoking, it’s worth it to withstand this hardship.

 

By the way, 금연Geum-yeon means “no smoking” in Korean, which happens to be very similar to the name of the character in the Korean drama, “Dae Jang Geum”, I mentioned at the beginning.  “Geum-yean” is not exactly the rival of Jang-geum in the drama, but for the smokers!  HAHA!

I hope that the ISOWA installation team performs well and stays in good condition.

Good luck!

The secret of the improvement of their performance…?

 

Look at the graph!

This is the graph that shows the achievement of the Service Department for the past several years.

Their performance rose to its highest levels last year!

I asked Mr. N, the department leader, how they managed to achieve such accomplishments for these years.

I would like to tell you one of the answers.

Several years ago, a new section in the service department was established as part of organization structure reform.

This new section was put in charge of two tasks, “A” and “B,” which separate departments were responsible.

All the staff of this new section were from the engineering field and were specialized in task “A.”  

But they were now responsible for task “B,” estimating the type of work they have never done before. 

At first, their work was inefficient and inaccurate.  

But staff from another section, who was good at the task “B,” willingly took on the job for them.

This is the exact demonstration of the spirit, “Taking the Initiative” and “Extending a hand.”

Meanwhile, the staff of the new sections focused on their task “A” they are specialized in, increasing the number of completed transactions.

By cooperating with each other and focusing on their fields of expertise, their work performance became efficient, and they managed to improve their performance.

I was astonished and impressed by learning about their efforts, improvements, and challenge.

Mr. N said, “It was the result of individuals thinking and all individuals working together as a team during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

We will continue to put our best effort and challenge ourselves in even more realization of the spirit, “ISOWA keeps you going - always on the go.”

The first woman!

One of our staff in the HR department, Ms. H, retired from ISOWA. She joined ISOWA after graduating from high school and worked full term until company retirement age. She worked at ISOWA for 41 years! This is the first great achievement of women workers in ISOWA.

When I joined ISOWA years ago, she taught me a lot of things as she already had five years in at HR department, 

Her main job was personnel and labor relations, but she did many other kinds of work besides them.  Here are some examples of her contributions.

She was interviewed by a publisher about her coordinating “Improvement Proposal Project team.”

She received an award from Senior Lion’s Club as a representative of ISOWA for years of blood donation activities.

She prepared flower arrangements for many of the company ceremonies. 

She planned and coordinated six months for a surprise celebration event for my 60th birthday.

We have a lot of memories with her.

We held a retirement ceremony for her last workday with a lot of gratitude. During the ceremony, there was a touching moment when a facilitator, Mr. T, could not hold his tears.

Here is one of the gifts for her, Japanese Sake!  She loves Japanese Sake.  A special message from our staff is engraved on the bottle. What a special gift! 

Thank you so much for 41 years, Ms. H.  We really wish her a wonderful second life! 

Guinness World Records

 

A full scale “C62” steam train made of cardboard was unveiled at the ISOWA factory three years ago. 

At the same time, we held our Family Open House.

The “C62” which was made by a cardboard craftsman by the name of Mr.Shima has been certified by Guinness as the world’s largest corrugated cardboard structure.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/646316-largest-cardboard-sculpture-of-a-vehicle

It’s wonderful!

It was also displayed at ISOWA, so it feels great!

To commemorate the Guinness World Records, Mr. Shima asked us to help make a promotional video based on the scenery during the assembly process at ISOWA.

It turned out to be a very cool video with some of the material we provided.

The ISOWA name is also included in it as “Special Thanks”, so please take a look.

New Member of ISOWA America

 

Last month, our electrical engineer, Mr. Y, moved to Arizona from Japan and started working at ISOWA America (IA). Mr. F will be completing his three-year term in IA, and Mr. Y will take over his position.

I am so glad that the IA team welcomes him. 

 

Please take a look at the board at the center. 

Ms. S drew a fantastic cactus character! 

 

Mr. Y really appreciates the heartwarming surprise.

According to Mr. Y, he sees many people wearing masks in town. He feels safe because the shops like supermarkets are not so crowded.

Like the IJ engineers who were stationed at IA, I hope you will learn a lot and grow.

Good luck, Mr. Y!

What is a new way to utilize a “video”?

Now, gatherings are limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, we are looking for some ways to interact with each other by utilizing video.

As one of example, I’ll introduce the recent commendation of our employees who have worked for many years.

Usually we have given them such awards in a company-assembly.

However, this time, I called on them personally and presented their awards.

After that, we took a video as they shared some words and distributed the video throughout the office.

I was hoping to see other employees who had watched the video sending some messages of congratulation and gratitude to them.

There are 13 people who received awards.

 

(In these pictures, there are other employees who rushed to celebrate with them.)

7 of them have been working for 20 years and the other 6 have worked for 10 years.

I felt deeply moved because of those who joined ISOWA 20 years ago when I had become president of my company.

Actually, the video received a lot of comments from other employees, for example, “I’m really happy to work with them.”

This is proof that they won our gratitude.

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt emotional connections thanks of the video.

Finally...!

 

A new member (we call him “Mr.T” here) has joined ISOWA Japan! He is from Gansu, China which is between the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. According to Ms.K, who knows about China well, “The famous Dunhuang” is in Gansu, too.

Actually, he was supposed to join ISOWA in April 2020 with other new employees. However, because of COVID-19, the government prohibited entries into Japan from China, so he couldn’t come to Japan as scheduled.

Before that, he already resigned from his former job in Shanghai to join ISOWA, so he went back to his hometown and kept waiting for almost a year. It shows his strong feeling for ISOWA. Thank you for waiting such a long time Mr.T.

It was finally possible to enter Japan, and he planned to come in the middle of January. But since last Fall, COVID-19 was going around again, so he decided to come a week earlier. After arriving in Japan, he stayed in quarantine at a hotel for two weeks, and FINALLY, his new journey in ISOWA was started on the 20th of January!

Because of the COVID-19 influence, he couldn’t introduce himself to everyone face to face, so we took a video of his introduction, and released it to all members in ISOWA.

As soon as he started working, I went to Assembly Section where he is in training. This was our reunion since his job interview two years ago. I took a picture of Mr.K with some members who happened to be there in memory of his joining ISOWA.

There is a Japanese saying, “A meeting by chance is preordained”. So the members in this picture will help and support Mr.T from now on, as we always the plan! (Of course, not only the members in this picture but all members in ISOWA will help him. Haha)

Welcome to Japan, and ISOWA Mr.T!

I can’t wait to see his growth, and we are sure that he is going to do his best for your business someday!

Welcome Back!

Happy new year, 2021!  I hope this year to be a great development and success for you. 

We appreciate your continuous support for ISOWA this year!

While I was browsing a website, I saw an article about the translated Japanese subtitle, "Okaeri nasai" – a translated phrase from "Welcome Back!" used in an English movie scene. 

"Okaerinasai" in Japanese is used in everyday situations to greet family members when they return home after being away from home that day.

The article explained that "Welcome Back!" in English has a nuance of "I am very glad to see you back" after a person returns from difficult situations or after a challenging task. 

During the year-end and New Year holidays, as many as 150 ISOWA staff and TASUKE-bito (staff from partner companies) went to the customer's site for the machine installation projects. They all successfully completed their task and have returned safely.

Based on the article I read, it really is "Welcome Back!" But to me, it fits so much more to say "Okaerinasai" in Japanese to welcome them back.  It expresses my sincere appreciation.

So, for all members who worked hard, "Okaerinasai."

You all returned safely and in good health, even in this COVID-19 pandemic and cold weather.  I thank you all for returning safely.  Okaerinasai.