The most impressive words

 

Yesterday (7/5/2023) was the first ISOWA Fellowship social gathering of this year.

 

The theme of this year's meeting was "sharing policies with employees," a topic that should be a concern for all managers.

 

The theme was discussed exclusively among management members.

 

What surprised me was the high level of self-disclosure by everyone.

Instead of just saying, "This is how we share (or have shared) our policies," they candidly said, "We are having trouble sharing our policies with our employees.”

I felt a great deal of empathy with their frank opinions.

 

No matter how wonderful a policy is, unless it is shared with employees and they put it into practice, it is nothing more than just an armchair theory.

Sharing policies is an eternal challenge for managers.

 

The tricky part is not knowing if the employees understand the company policies.

I can only guess, so therefore the only way to know the truth is to actually ask them.　

However, even if employees say they really feel empathy with the policies, they only think so, and even they don’t know if they really understand it.

Because the source of the policies is within me, no matter how many times I explain it, I have never been confident that I have successfully completely shared the essence of our company policies to all my employees.

In addition, do the employees see that “our president really wants to implement the policy?”

 

In response to this question, I was most impressed by the words of Mr. H, a member of our staff at the social gathering.

He said, "I decided to join ISOWA because I wanted to work with people like them.　

What I do is important, but who I work with makes a big difference in my motivation.”

 

Perhaps the feeling of "I want to work with this person (the president)" is the best way to share the policies.

 

Who made their world debut?

 

Last December, we were interviewed by International Paperboard Industry, a well-respected trade publication.

 

The article has finally appeared in print.

Apart from the written piece, they included many photos of our company taken during the interview in this issue.

Thanks to them, several of our employees were able to make their world debut, and I would like to introduce them to you.

In the photo above, behind me on the right are, from the front, sales staff members Mr. H, Mr. S, and Mr. N, and on the left is Mr. K, who is in charge of overseas sales.

Covid-19 was still prevalent, and everyone was wearing masks, so even I could not tell who was who in the following photos of the ISOWA-bito wearing a helmet in the factory.

If you know who they are, please let me know in the comments.

I will give you a copy of the article.

Now let me show you the rest of the photos.

Here is the ad that accompanied the article.

It's a catchphrase that means "Over 100 years in business."

 

Following the ISOWA article, there was an article on the WaterDeck of our partner Kohler Coating Inc. in the US.

At the top of the article appeared Mr. Mike Kohler, Vice President of Kohler Coating.

Since the last year, WaterDeck's performance has gradually been recognized in Japan, and orders have been increasing.  "SORI-反り" ("warpage" in English) - has been a forever challenge in the corrugated board industry. But now we can choose the WaterDeck as the best SORIution(solution) for "SORI"- warpage (sounds good, doesn't it?).

The WaterDeck also contributes to reducing opportunity loss in corrugated board factories!

 

Thank you for the excellent article, Mr. David!

We aim to prosper together with everyone!!

The other day, we held the ISOWA social gathering.

 

It is an annual event in which our subcontractors, we call “TASUKE-bito”, participate.

 

In recent years, it was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we were able to meet face-to-face for the first time in four years!

 

80 people participated, including ISOWA-bito.

 

We first explained our strategy which we are working very hard on and the status of orders we received this fiscal year.

 

Afterwards, we held a get-together with lunch.

 

(With everyone at the same table at lunch.)

I expressed determination, “We have set the goal of “coexisting and prospering with everyone in TASUKE-bito” and have been working on it.

Although we haven’t been able to take steps yet, we really want to realize the goal to prosper together with everyone!!”

 

After that, we gave letters of thanks and monetary awards to three corporations, which contributed to us during the previous fiscal year, K, D, and Y corporation.

 

In addition, we introduced five corporation, which celebrated their anniversaries this year, M corporation (90^th anniversary), Se corporation (70^th anniversary), K and D corporation (both 60^th anniversary), and Si corporation (50^th anniversary).

 

Thank you all for your participation, and please come to the ISOWA social gathering from now on!

 

We aim to prosper together with everyone!!

New World Record

Company M is a Canadian customer of ISOWA's Falcon (made in 2014).

It is located at the eastern end of Canada, the opposite shore of Prince Edward Island, the setting of "Anne of Green Gables."

I visited there 8 years ago, a little after we installed the machine. (Japanese site)

 

It was a heavenly place where "ISOWA would love to open its summer office."

This time, Company M informed us of the production record of last May 25, in one shift (12 hours).

Total running time: 11 hours 37 minutes

Downtime: 5 minutes

Number of orders: 15

Average set time: 1 minute 31 seconds

Total production：240,736 boxes

Average production speed：344 sheets/min.

Falcon's maximum production speed is 350 sheets/minute, so an average speed of 344 sheets/minute means that the machine has been running at its maximum speed for almost all hours of the shift.

This is a world record for the ISOWA Falcon.   

Congratulations!     

To celebrate, ISOWA America members planned to visit them and their Falcon several times, but the visit was postponed three times to be sure everyone could attend. 

Finally, it happened this March!

We were able to give them a gift of the world record plaque and take a commemorative photo with the managers and operators.

"This is a great example of what a great staff, a great machine, and great discipline can accomplish.

Even eight years after installation, a feat like this is still possible with proper maintenance.

Thank you, Company M.

Please continue to love Falcon as your "Ai-ki" (favorite machine in Japanese) for a long time.

ISOWA will also contribute to the reduction of opportunity loss for Company M!

Farewell to Mr. M. His Fans will miss him.

Mr. M had been working as an overseas engineer for several decades. He haｄ a lot of fans in many places in the world. I was one of them.

He retired and left ISOWA at the age of sixty. His many fans and ISOWA people miss him.

I told him that I wanted to have a farewell dinner when I saw him on his final day. He requested to go to an Indian restaurant. Indian cuisine is my favorite. So, I had no reason to turn it down. Haha!

I invited Mr. H, who had joined ISOWA at the same time as Mr. M. I also invited Mr. O, who had been working hard together for the overseas sales department. 

We talked a lot about our past stories. 

The customer in Thailand really wanted to work with Mr. M one more time. So, he went on a business trip to Thailand just before his retirement day.

Mr. M said,

“It was a little bit hard to say goodbye when I was leaving.”

“Just completing the tasks is not enough. By maintaining a good relationship with the customers, I can get them involved.”

“Even though the customers and I did not have a common language, I spent break time with them. Then, they were willing to help me. If Japanese people go abroad with other Japanese, they rely on each other. It prevents their growth. I know it is challenging, but young people should go overseas on a business trip alone.”

Wow! I really want young ISOWA people to inherit Mr. M’s wonderful spirit. 

His coworker Mr. O told me a secret story about Mr. M.

This is the hand wash counter in our machinery assembly factory.

Since it is made of tiles, the tiles and grout get dirty. Mr. M always cleaned it.

Like above (This is a sample photo. Haha.)

Mr. M said, “I did not do a special thing. I just poured a chemical, and the counter became clean automatically.” (I forgot the name of the chemical.)

His act was awesome.

Mr. O added, “One day, Mr. M found that there was no soap dish at the counter. Then, he paid for three soap dishes out of his own pocket. He also refilled the detergent bottle. He always did these things when no one was around him.”

He was not only the popular overseas engineer but also very helpful in the office. As the ISOWA president, I felt very sorry that I didn’t realize that he was doing so much for the office and staff.  

Mr. O! Why did you wait to tell me about these important stories until the final day of Mr. M!? It was too late. I wanted you to tell me earlier!

When it comes to “out of his pocket,” I would like to mention the original hats for ISOWA’s 100th anniversary.

When he went to Thailand for business purposes, he ordered 100 hats and presented to the ISOWA people. I really loved the nice design, and Mr. M presented two for me. They are still my favorite.

I told Mr. M repeatedly, “If you get bored after retirement, please come back. I always welcome you even if it is tomorrow! Haha.”

Seriously, I really look forward to it.

Until then, please take a break and take good care of your lower back pain. Please visit ISOWA sometime and show me your cheerful face.

Mr. M., thank you very much for your 42 years as a wonderful ISOWA-bito!

A spirit of never giving up despite failure

January company-wide morning meeting.

We presented awards to those who passed the 2022 National Technical Skills Test (first half of the year).

Mr. F and Mr. H both passed Grade 1 of Machinery Assembly and Finishing Work, and Mr. Nn, Mr. I, and Mr.Nk passed Grade 2 of the same class.

However, Mr. F is currently on an overseas business trip, so the other four members received awards on this day.

Each of the four gave a speech, and they all said, "I was able to pass the certification test thanks to my seniors, my supervisor, and Mr. K of the proficiency test office, who continued to guide me even after the work hours."

 

It is not just an event for ISOWA employees who take the exam; the whole company's support has taken root as a corporate culture.

 

The best part was the speech by Mr. H, who passed Grade 1.

 

He said, "I first took the test when Covid-19 was just starting to catch on. At the time, I never dreamed that either my exam studies or the Covid-19 craze would last for three years."

 

Even though he did not pass the exam the last two years in a row, he tried again for the third time this year and finally passed the exam.

I was impressed by his gentlemanly spirit that never gave up, kept trying, even when he failed, and still could talk about his efforts with a sense of humor.

That's just what you'd expect from someone who's passed the 1st grade of the Proficiency Test!　Well done!　

Another machinist, Mr. M, also passed the Numerical Control Lathe Operation Grade 1 course.

The efforts of each and every one of these individuals are the very essences of ISOWA's technical assets.

I hope that many more ISOWA employees will take on this challenge in the future.

After the morning assembly, I tried to take a commemorative photo, but I couldn't find Mr. K from the office.

Then, everyone said, 

　"Mr. K is the star of the show, so we really want to take a picture with him."

So I returned to the site and called Mr. K back, and he agreed to be photographed, although he seemed reluctant and embarrassed.

This was another typical ISOWA moment.

Two overseas guests to ISOWA

In December, we welcomed two guests across the border.

The first guest was from Thailand.

 

This is a photo from 6 years ago.

The gentleman in the photo visited ISOWA for the first time in 6 years, and we had dinner together last night.

When we had dinner together 6 years ago, he asked me questions from various aspects about our company’s management philosophy and corporate culture.

He immediately took notes as I explained each of them.

I was impressed by his enthusiasm.

I gave him a shikishi (Japanese-style message card) on which Tsunobo(my wife) had written a Japanese message, "Kitto saku (it means surely it will bloom)," with a calligraphy brush as a gift.

There is a reason for this: his name is “Kittisak”

I was sure that "Kittisak" would bloom in the near future if he kept running his business like this, so I sent him the word "Kitto saku" with my wish.

When I met him this time, he told me that he keeps the photo and shikishi on display.

And he also said, “Since you told me the idea of "Employees' Happiness" the last time we had dinner together, I've been running my business based on that idea for these six years. As a result, I was able to lead my company to great growth with ISOWA's machines.”

What an incredible story he told!

See! I knew he had been blooming!

And again, last night, he asked me a number of questions about new initiatives at ISOWA over these six years, and he promptly took note of my answers on his phone.

Proving that, the thank-you e-mail I received late at night said, "I wrote down the 8 points tonight. I will put them into practice as soon as I return home."

I was impressed by his sincere attitude, which was the same as six years ago.

This is exactly what “Making folks happy in the corrugated world” means!

It was a blissful reunion.

Thank you, Kittisaku-san.

Here is the story of the second guest.

International Paper Board Industry is one of the corrugated industry trade magazines published by Brunton Publications from the U.K..

Mr. David, a reporter of the magazine, visited us for the first time in a while.

His first visit was in August 2008.

Then he came here for the second time in August 2012.

 And this was his third visit to ISOWA.

As you can see above, we have both grown old over these 14 years.

He also appeared in ISOWA’s centennial commemorative magazine; therefore, I dedicated the commemorative magazine to him before we started the tour.

Though it's all written in Japanese (laugh.)

Since he is very interested in ISOWA’s approach of improving the corporate culture, he asked me a lot of questions about that apart from the main interview this time as well.

As a result, the interview, including the factory tour, lasted nearly four hours.

Afterward, we had dinner together and talked about various topics for another two hours.

As a machinery manufacturer, ISOWA is passionate not only about technology but also about “people (involved with machines)” and “(their) feelings.”

We could have a great talk as he shares that idea.

“Let’s meet a little more often from now on,” I said.

“Please take me to ISOWA’s customer’s factory next time,” he said.

“Of course!” I replied.

I would have a variety of topics ready for next time.

See you again, Kittisak.

See you again, David.