Let’s go, ISOWA America!

 

I have not been to the U.S. for a long time, since the pandemic began.

The last time I traveled on business was,

LINK TO THE PREVIOUS POST.

in December, 2018.

 

During that time, we bought our own office, three times larger than the one we had rented,

and the number of employees has doubled to now 25.　It’s thanks to the IA team, who have contributed to the patronage of our North and South American clients and their Kikai (“machine” and “opportunity”) Loss Reduction.

 

What a gorgeous welcome, by the way. I am overwhelmed.

 

Mr. S, who has only been here for a few days as a successor to Mr. Y, who has been here for 3 years, has been completely Americanized and brightened up. I have high expectations for him.

 

Unlike most American companies, IA follows the philosophy of ISOWA Japan and is committed to Japanese-style management with an emphasis on Corporate Culture. It has evolved every year, and people who saw the evolution and admire the culture of thinking as a team rather than as an individual, and by extension, Japan itself, are now joining us.

 

Exactly “choose who rides the bus” and “choose by who rides the bus”.

 

This further creates the evolution of IA. Of the 23 people, excluding expatriates from Japan, the number of bilinguals who spoke fluent Japanese had increased to 4.

 

 The iceberg under the surface matters.

 

It is a virtuous cycle toward a philosophy-based management.

ISOWA America is nice. Really nice.

 

To contribute to the Kikai (“machine” and “opportunity”) Loss Reduction, we need people and parts. Parts inventory is essential.

Behind the larger office is an even larger and more orderly warehouse, which holds 3.5 times more spare parts than it did a few years ago.

In the evening, Mr. Y's wife, Mrs. A, and her daughter, Miss Y, joined us for dinner. It was a friendly and enjoyable dinner party.

 

Let's continue to do our best! Let’s go, ISOWA America!

Unchanged feelings even after 14 years

In mid-September, I visited the United States on a business trip for the first time in several years. Looking back, the last time I visited the United States was in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

I was surprised to realize that I hadn't visited the United States for such a long time!

 

The reason of the trip this time was for an exhibition called "Super Corr" in Orlando, Florida – often referred to as the Mecca of theme parks.

My primary objective was to deepen the personal connections between our company, ISOWA, and our important customers, not just our business-to-business relationships. To that end, over the course of three days, ISOWA America hosted a dinner at a different venue each evening.

 

Day 1.

Day 2.

Day 3.

A total of 12 companies and 31 customers attended.

In addition, 5 representatives from ISOWA America and 5 from ISOWA Japan attended, including Hikaru, Mr. A (who oversees sales in America), and engineers Mr. Su and Mr.Sa from ISOWA Japan.

Every night, I gave a short speech to the guests at the start of the event.

"My grandfather founded the company in 1920, and my father joined in 1949.

At the time, ISOWA was only the 6th largest manufacturer of corrugated board machinery in Japan.

My father first came to America in 1964.

That was a small step for him but one giant leap for ISOWA.

He had been hoping to establish a technical partnership with General Corporation in New Jersey for the production of semi-automatic gluers. After writing to them for 10 months without a response, he finally managed to visit the U.S. in person.

My father stayed at a hotel in New York and was determined to make the partnership a reality. Despite the fact that it was the middle of winter, he took the bus to their factory in New Jersey every day. After ten days of persistence, they finally reached an agreement.

Although the gluer that they had partnered with was not as successful in Japan as they had hoped, fortunately, when General Corporation saw the flexographic printing presses that ISOWA was manufacturing, they approached us with a counterproposal: "We want to sell these to our customers in America."

And so, in 1966, our export business to America began.

This was the beginning. And thanks to your continued patronage, ISOWA has been able to come this far.

I can't help but think that my late father would have loved to be here.

There are many cardboard companies. However, we do not want to create just "so-called customers."

We always want to foster long-lasting partnerships with customers who share our values.

That's right, we exist for "eternal true customers" like you, who have gathered here today.

I have been in this industry for 40 years. Of course, I will continue to work hard for you. Beyond that, I am confident that my son Hikaru, along with ISOWA America and ISOWA Japan will continue to strengthen the bonds built over the years."

In July 1969, when I was still in elementary school, I watched the first human landing on the moon by the American spacecraft Apollo 11 on TV with bated breath. I've quoted the famous words of the captain of the ship, Neil Armstrong.

As you can imagine, I was nervous when it came to English.

14 years ago, when I first visited one of the companies participating in this event, I was asked to give a presentation introducing ISOWA to their top management as we had no prior business dealings up to that point.

Among the guests at this dinner party was someone who had been present at that time.

That person shared with me his memories from that day.

He recalled, "During the Q&A session after the presentation, when a colleague asked you how ISOWA was going to approach the American market in the future, you responded, 'ISOWA does not look at the market. What we look at is the customer. ' I was really surprised by that."

I was moved that he still remembered what I said 14 years ago.

The speech I gave this time reflects the same core principle. In other words, it is "the unchanging basic stance of ISOWA."

Ron from ISOWA America, who was also at the event 14 years ago, said to me, "Every time I see him, he talks about that time. He says, 'When I think back on it, I still get emotional.'"

I am grateful to hear that. I really felt that they are our 'Best Customer forever.'

We gave each participant a Hina doll as a gift.

I was able to share a wonderful time with everyone who attended. I want to thank you all.

I would also like to thank everyone at ISOWA America, including Nick, for all the hard work behind the scenes in making everything possible.

What an honor!

We are proud to announce that we have been awarded Porter Prize - 2024.

Thanks to our team members (ISOWA-bito), our business partners (TASUKE-bito) and our customers.

"The Porter Prize was established to bestow recognition on Japanese companies that have achieved and maintained superior profitability in a particular industry by implementing unique strategies based on innovations in products, processes, and ways of managing.

The name of the award is derived from Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard  University, a leading authority on strategy with a longstanding interest in Japan."

"Since the essence of strategy is doing different things from others, the prize will recognize those companies and business units that have deliberately chosen to compete in a distinctive way in a particular industry by delivering a unique value proposition, based on innovations in products, processes, and methods of management. This singular focus on strategy and innovation is what sets the Porter Prize apart from the other awards presented in Japan."

(Quote from Porter Prize website)

 

The reasons for receiving the award are as follows:

ISOWA Corporation is a company specializing in the development, design, manufacture, sales, and maintenance of corrugated machinery. They are a leader in the two major fields of corrugated sheet manufacturing machinery and corrugated box making machinery, with a wide range of products and many patented technologies, especially in the segment of small-lot, high-speed machines.

ISOWA's strategic feature lies in their preventive and planned maintenance services. They convey to customers the losses caused by sudden and long-hour machine stoppages, and the value of preventive maintenance. They go beyond regular parts replacement and offer suggestions to keep customers' production lines running, and encourage customers to use planned maintenance services, and successfully monetized maintenance services. Improving customer satisfaction with maintenance services will also lead to sales of new machines.

Customer satisfaction with field service is highly dependent on the quality of personnel, and ISOWA is reforming its culture ahead of its focus on preventive and planned maintenance services. In 2006, they established a corporate philosophy of "Aiming towards having the best corporate culture in the world where we can work for the happiness of ourselves and our beloved ones". In this atmosphere ISOWA-bito (ISOWA team members) can proactively think and act to satisfy customers on their initiative, and has created the organization made up of colleagues who share "fairness and justice" as a core value.

50 years, 40years, and 3years

We honored two ISOWA Bito for 50 years and 40 years of dedicated service at this morning's meeting.

 

This time, it was Mr. I, who has been with ISOWA for 50 years and is from the same graduating class as me, and Mr. T, who has been with us for 40 years.

They are strong figures who have experience in various departments, domestic and international business trips, and work locations.　

After I handed them letters of gratitude, they made speeches.

 

Mr. I,

“I felt inferior to others, so I found seniors I admired and learned from. Shohei Otani said, 'Let's stop longing,' but I think we should long for something.”

 

Mr. T, who lived in Seattle, U.S.A.

“40 years have passed in a blink of an eye, but looking back, I've met so many people.”

 

It seemed Mr. I. didn't get enough time to speak, so I made him a special offer for his 50 years of service: “Please talk as much as you want. I will make a video of it to publish company-wide.”

It was such a captivating speech.

 

The other speaker was Mr. S, who has been with us for 3 years.

 

However, this is not an award for 3 years of service.

He will be transferred to ISOWA America next week.

He said,

“I have fewer years in my career than any of my seniors who have been stationed at ISOWA America in the past. If I have any questions, I will call or e-mail you guys from America, so please be kind and support me. Especially Mr. O.”

 

Let’s show him our support, everyone!

 

And finally, from me to all of you, ISOWA-Bito.

 

There is no ISOWA-Bito who is not part of “Contribution to Kikai (“machine” and “opportunity”) Loss Reduction for NEXT Customers.” Thinking about how you are connected and what you can contribute is what it means to “live ISOWA.”

 

I am counting on you!

Até!

*The original website has a Portuguese version.

Last month, we formed a business partnership with "Fukuyose Hina Project," led by my former Nagoya JC colleague, Momo-chan. (haha) 

This project will send wonderful Japanese Hina dolls overseas, giving them second lives.

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/h_isowa/e/508d5110c8e09bfa90d7907d89c2c05e

Promptly, the Hina dolls will set off for a homestay. The homestay destination is Brazil, the farthest country from Japan.

Last week, we secretly decided to have the seven members of Company A, who are in Japan for our FFG machine training, host the dolls at their homes. Many Hina dolls wished to go to Brazil, but Momo-chan carefully selected seven pairs of dolls for the seven people.

On the last day at ISOWA, after all the training programs had ended, there was sudden excitement and cheers when Momo-chan was introduced to the seven members. Everyone was surprised and, of course, couldn't understand what was happening. 

So, I explained to them the purpose of the Fukuyose Hina Project and said,

"Please let one pair of Hina dolls stay at each of your homes indefinitely. Also, please introduce this traditional Japanese culture of Hina dolls to your family and friends in Brazil."

Everyone was overjoyed and agreed to the request, even wanting to take pictures with Momo-chan. Look at the joyful expressions on everyone's faces!

Ederson

Everton

Jack

Carlos (ISOWA America)

Benedito

Ricardo

Thiago

Momo-chan was loved by everyone!

It's quite a grand romance that Hina dolls, after finishing their initial careers in Japan, start their second lives in the homes of the important clients of ISOWA, just like the people who immigrated from Japan before the war. It's a bit touching.

Thinking this way, I noticed that Thiago felt the same. Tears appeared in Thiago's eyes... Seeing that made me even more moved.

They are all really nice guys.  It's truly wonderful to work with a company like Company A, our long-time customer, and to bring happiness to our associates and folks in the corrugated world. 

Once you return to Brazil, please pour out your love to ISOWA machines and Hina dolls.

Thank you, everyone at Company A.

And thank you to Momo-chan and everyone in the Fukuyose Hina Project for offering such a wonderful cultural exchange partnership!

P.S.

Everyone at Company A, thank you for sending us the photos of the Hina dolls you decorated at home!

A wonderful time in IA Training program at ISOWA Japan

ISOWA America’s service technicians have come to Japan for training to learn how to install, adjust, and test machines on their own without support by ISOWA Japan. The first group, Furlan and Mario, have been studying for two weeks since mid-May. While Furlan has been to Japan before, this is Mario's first time to visit both Japan and ISOWA Japan.

Shortly after they arrived, I invited them for a meal before they left, but suddenly there were only two days left, so we quickly arranged a lunch. The venue was a restaurant near our office chosen by Mr. O from the overseas sales department. Since neither of them had tried eel before, we treated them to Hitsumabushi (a kind of local eel dish).

They told me they had often passed by this restaurant, which is near their hotel. Remembering my invitation, they had secretly hoped to dine there, noticing the well-dressed patrons and the upscale appearance, thinking, "It would be nice if Hideyuki-san takes us here."

Mr. O’s choice of the restaurant made their wish come true, and they were thrilled. They both enjoyed the Hitsumabushi.

In late June, a second team will come to Japan. So, we joked, “Let’s make sure to tell the next group to ask for a fancy restaurant if they dine with Hideyuki-san.” “Great idea!”

But if we take the second group to an even nicer restaurant, Furlan and Mario might get upset, so maybe I’ll take the next group here again!

ISOWA America's service technicians travel even more than ISOWA Japan’s. It can be challenging, but let’s work together as one ISOWA to...

Create the great corporate culture with the spirit of "Quickness and Interaction," and "Do better, More will come."

The following day, Mario looked unusually serious, so I asked what was going on. "It's my final exam," he replied. "Oh! That makes sense!" Yesterday was the last day of his training in Japan, and now he's taking a test to review everything he's learned.

"This is tough," he must be thinking. This will be another memory of his time in ISOWA Japan.

After two weeks of training at ISOWA, Mario plans to stay in Japan for another two weeks to travel on his own. When I came to work the next day, I realized I didn’t see him. That means he passed his final exam and went on his vacation in Japan.

Both Furlan, who is heading straight back to Brazil after a month away from his family, and Mario, who is vacationing in Japan, have worked hard for two weeks. Take care!

See you again soon!

A message from God

 

 Mr. Uehara, who is a Shinto priest of the local Ryosha Shrine, conducted the annual ceremony of ISOWA's guardian god, Ryujin-sama, on April 12th under a clear sky.

 

 

New employees are in charge of setting up the ceremony every year under the guidance of the employee support team.

 

Annual and monthly ceremonies are held to pray for no accidents and no injuries.

 

Unfortunately, the entire ISOWA group had 3 work-related accidents and 24 cases of near-miss incidents (there might have been more near-miss).

 

In addition, traffic accidents have been particularly noticeable recently.

Twenty-five accidents occurred, including five cases caused by small rocks.

 

As a matter of course, Ryujin-sama's help alone cannot reduce the number of accidents, nor can we completely eliminate accidents.

 

That's why all employees must make an effort every day.

We must point out all the unsafe acts to each other, our colleagues, firmly with courage.

This is one example of what “Take an initiative!” to pursue zero accidents means.

 

 

 We heard a voice from heaven at the end of the ceremony!　What is it?　We looked up at the sky,

Ryujin-sama was watching over us from the sky!　

No, no, it was Mr. T, who gave us instructions for a commemorative photo!　

 

Let us consider Mr. T our safety god (I'm just joking) and always increase our safety awareness!

T-kun, please guide us!

Family Open House 2024

The ISOWA Family Open House was held on March 23.

For the morning schedule, 700 people were invited, including current ISOWA-Bito and their families and alumni and their families. For the afternoon schedule, more than 100 TASUKE-Bito (employees of partner companies) and their families, and for the first time, people living in the community near ISOWA's headquarters, were invited. It was the largest event in the history of ISOWA.

On the day of the event, everyone could see demonstrations of ISOWA's box-making machine, "Ibis," threading corrugated sheets and enjoy meals from 15 different kitchen cars.

Many people were interested in the newly completed cardboard boxes and the machine we had painstakingly made.

The specially set up food court inside the factory was filled with guests chatting and smiling.

 

Due in part to COVID-19's influence, this was the first time since 2018 that we invited the families of our employees to this event.

 

(https://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2018/12/open-house-2018.html)

 

ISOWA's philosophy is "Working hard for my own and my beloved family's happiness."

 

But if everyone only thinks about their own happiness and the happiness of their beloved family, we cannot function as a team.

We must also respect the happiness of our coworkers and their families.

It is my belief that this caring spirit will lead us to the "best corporate culture in the world."

 

Some of our customers have factories that operate at night. When an urgent problem occurs, our employees go out even in the middle of the night.

Even on weekends, we do maintenance work at our customers' factories. Since the machines are large, our installation work can be done only during major holidays. More than 100 workers head out to customer's factories for that purpose during such holidays. In fact, some employees were unable to attend this family open house due to their work commitments at customer sites.

ISOWA is what it is because of these colleagues.

So, I feel very bad for the families of our employees.

Even if I wanted to express my apologies and appreciation, I rarely have the opportunity to meet the families of our employees.

But these employees work for their families. So, when I see the smiling faces of our employees' family members, who are their treasures, or exchange a few words with them, it fills my heart with contentment.

And they naturally make me smile.

I once again realized that seeing the smiles of my employees and their families is the core of my intrinsic motivation.

 

I will continue to do my best for all of them!

 

Country and country, company and company, people and people

Nice picture, isn’t it?

 

Mr. G, the president of Company A in Brazil, visited ISOWA. This time, he brought his wife, children, nephew, and the factory manager.

 

It has been 20 years since we first met. The predecessor, his wife, and the current president and his wife visited us together then. We received a substantial order at that time.

 

They asked, “Regarding the payment condition of our contract, which currency do you prefer, the US dollar, Japanese Yen, or Brazilian Real?”

 

We answered, “Then, in Japanese Yen, please.”

 

The president suddenly pulled his checkbook out of his bag and wrote a very large check immediately.

It was the first and the only experience I had.

 

I told the story to Mr. G, and he replied, “Oh, that’s right! I remember it well.”

 

I wish I could say we did the Discover ISOWA tour in Portuguese, but as you may have guessed, it was not possible. All our members did their best in English instead.

 

First, Ms. T made a presentation. She is the person holding the Japanese flag on the left side in the top picture. She talked about ISOWA’s organizational culture using the Iceberg model: the visible initiatives, like the mass above the iceberg’s water, and the invisible initiatives, like the mass underwater. She also shared her thoughts.

Second, Mr. F, who worked at ISOWA America, shared his strong will to reduce customers’ opportunity loss through the remote maintenance system. His passion for his mission made the presentation very persuasive.

 

Next, Ms. T from the Design Section introduced her original video of machine maintenance. It was a brilliant work with English narrations and Portuguese subtitles. Everyone from Company A was very impressed.

Next was Mr. N from the Machining Section. What a loud voice he had. Honestly, I was surprised that he made such a confident presentation. He is pursuing better quality and actively suggests many things to be improved.

Last was Mr. K from Assembly Group. He is a meister of machinery assembling and a master of the finishing dojo. He had previously visited Company A for the new machine installation. He expressed his gratitude, listing the names of each operator at Company A who helped him during the machine installation.

I see that Company A and ISOWA are connected not only by company and company but also by people and people.

 

I was impressed that the customers listened seriously to every ISOWA member’s presentation and gave big applause each time.

 

I am confident that Company A received ALL ISOWA’s warm hospitality spirit.

 

Thank you to our wonderful five presenters.

A Versatile Color Coordinator

Ms. Ritsu, a color coordinator, has a long-standing relationship with us.

For 20 years, since the summer of 2005, we have had many fond memories together.

It's been a while since she came to our office last time. As expected of a color coordinator. the soft color combination of her clothes looked wonderful on her.

I was most curious about the lap blanket or the scarf that was inside her bag. A combination of large checks in mellow, pale colors. The color scheme was so beautiful.

It's been a while since I saw her last time, so I took her out to lunch before work. The quiche we had was as fluffy as an omelet served at the hotel. It was wonderful.

She was also very happy.

It was my first time at the restaurant Bistro Futatsuboshi, and I'm going to try it out for dinner next time.

 

Today, I sought her advice about the design of my business card.

For the past 20 years, her gifted talent has shown beyond the framework of color coordinators. She showed her full potential.

One of the things that I have always asked for her help with is the top image of this "ISOWA Diary'', which is a seasonal selection. I was told for the first time today that she chooses 2 or 3 photos from 700 to 1000 photos each time. From there, I choose the best photo for “ISOWA Diary”. She has had an integral role in it.

 

She has been having trouble with her eyes for a while now, and she said it's difficult for her to work on computer for a long period of time. So, she wants to put her work on hold.

I asked a big favor, and she agreed to continue to choose the photos for “ISOWA Diary.”

 

We have a lot of memories with her.

A Christmas tree made of cardboard.

Recruiting-website design.

 

Creating “i機“ logo.

Redesigning the “ISOWA” logo.

Designing Uniform.

There were countless memories.

 

Her versatility has made my working life colorful as well.

 

Ms.Ritsu, this will not be the last time, and thank you so much for the past 20 years!

Across the Pacific

Ron and Kaiser from ISOWA America came to Japan at the end of November, 2023.

Since the two of them are also managing their company with ISOWA's motto, "Quickness & Interaction," we gave them a Japanese version of the poster as a gift.

https://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2023/11/quickness-and-interaction.html

Shortly after the two returned to their home, they sent me the photo with a comment “It was nice to review the meaning and intent of Q&I again with the IA team.”

They also put the poster up in their office. Everyone looks great!

Japan and America. The culture and customs are different, but the direction we aim for as the ISOWA group is the same.

As all ISOWA, let's work together to eliminate lost opportunities for all our customers!