ISOWA NEWS LETTER

Vol.145: IBIS – Making Continuous Improvements (Kaizen)

06/01/202105/28/2021ISOWALeave a comment

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ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2021/06 Vol. 145
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The ISOWA NEWS LETTER is a newsletter for the benefit
of special customers only.
Each month we bring you information about our company
and its products – information you won’t find on our home page
or in our catalogs.
We hope the ISOWA NEWS LETTER will help you feel closer to us.

─┬───────────────────
1├　IBIS – Making Continuous Improvements (Kaizen)
2├　New Member of ISOWA America
～From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY～
─┴───────────────────
Hello and Greetings!
This is Kaiser Hagopian with Isowa America in Phoenix, Arizona.

Spring has finally arrived, and I think we are all happy and excited about the warmer weather!
Another difficult winter has passed, and I hope you and yours are all well.

With the season change my family and I had an opportunity to take a trip to northern Arizona to enjoy the great outdoors.

We stayed in a cabin and went for daily hikes, sightseeing, fishing and of coarse nightly campfires (yes, we ate a lot of smores!). It was a very enjoyable time with my family. It was nice to show my children new things about the forest and exploring new things, it was our adventure. I can still call it that for a few more years until they get older. Later it will just be a vacation to them too!

I have lived in Arizona for over 40 years and just discovered a new place to visit that I was unaware of!
We visited the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park and were surprised to learn about this natural wonder.
It has several hiking paths and beautiful viewpoints of the surrounding mountains, river, and bridge.
The hike down under the bridge was a little difficult and I admit that I swore several times that I would stop eating the smores and promised myself to lose weight for the next time!

I hope you also have an opportunity to enjoy the spring season and visit new places and experience your own adventures!

In case anyone is wondering after reading this, we unfortunately did not catch any fish! Perhaps next time!

Best Wishes, Kaiser
And now, let’s turn to Vol. 145 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER
We hope you like this edition.
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IBIS – Making Continuous Improvements (Kaizen)
———————————————–
Hello everyone!
I am Rina Tamura from the Sales Department.

Thanks to everyone’s efforts and support, we have delivered nearly 120 IBIS; ISOWA’s much-loved machine, to customers worldwide. (As of February 2021)
Every day, we strive to further improve the machine performance and safety features so that we can continue to deliver excellence with IBIS. “The FFG (Flexo Folder Gluer)- Install Time Reduction Project” was developed as part of such efforts.
As the name suggests, the project aims to improve FFG installation time and a team was established with a group of members from various departments.

Installation work usually takes more than a few weeks. What if it could be completed in a few “days”?
That may eliminate the need to schedule machine installation over a long holiday and allow the customer to take vacations without worrying about the installation.
Simplifying the design in place of complex mechanisms not only would reduce steps of the installation process but also would streamline the machine maintenance, which we hope our customers could easily take on their own as a routine task. The project was launched with that in mind.

The project team members exchanged many ideas and went through a trial-and-error process. Some improvements from these processes have already been implemented in our IBIS.
I want to show you three of the significant improvements we developed.

The first is the “Rail Base Improvement.”
Rail installation is one of the toughest and most critical tasks requiring a high level of precision, that would take about two full days.
The improvement here was to increase the anchor bolt size on rails for the machine, folding sections, counter section, and to modify anchor bolts install locations. These modifications increased the stability and reduced the number of anchor bolts required. The improvement successfully resulted in a labor-hour reduction, and it helps the workers maintain their focus on their tasks.

In the photos, you can tell that we succeeded in reducing the number of anchor bolts at a glance!
It is amazing that this modification increased the strength compared to the original positions.

[Before the modification]

REV１

[After the improvement]
REV２
Not only did we reduce the number of anchor bolts on the folding section, but we also improved the install process.

[Before]
1. Anchor bolts secured and equipment leveled while bringing the machine units in

[After the improvement]
1. The base installed first
2. The Machinery installed on top of the base

The base at the FG front side

REV３

The base at the FG rear side

REV４

With the previous method, we secured the anchor bolts and leveled the equipment while carrying in the unit, which took a considerable amount of time to determine the machine position.
The riggers had to stand by and wait until the proper machine position was determined.

Now that improvements have been made, the base can be installed first. The machinery location can be determined before bringing the unit in, allowing it to simply be placed on the base later. This method makes the installation process smoother and faster.

Looking at the photos, it may appear that there are more steps in the process, but I can tell you that the installation time has been reduced dramatically.

The machine being placed on the base.

REV５

The second is “Improvement on Folder Gluer Section Guard Modifications.”

[Before]
Two L-shaped angles are assembled together and secured to the post of the guard panel to form the legs.

[After the improvement]
Square-shaped independent feet are secured individually.
By securing the feet separately and improving the rigidity of each post, the number of posts is reduced, along with labor hours required after the IBIS is installed.

The prior design of the lower part of the Folder Gluer section guard had some challenges which included the following:
– Attracting paper dust due to static electricity and getting dirty
– The folding sheet process was not visible with the solid lower panels.
– Keeping the guard panel fingerprint free during machine install work.
For these reasons, we switched to a mesh pattern to improve maintainability and visibility.

We received positive feedback from our customers that the production is more visible and cleaning tasks became easier than before.

[Before]

REV６

[After the improvement]

REV７
The third improvement is “Reducing the width of the Control cabinet on Counter section.”

[ Before]

1. When shipping the machinery from our factory, we separated the counter ejector and control cabinet before loading on a freight truck.
2. These items were reassembled at the customer plant during the machine install.

[After the improvement]

1. The control cabinet size and shape were redesigned to enable loading of the counter section and control cabinet as one unit on the truck at the time of shipment.
2. No longer required to reassemble at the customer plant.

You can see in the photo that the width of the control cabinet has been reduced.
This has also increased the space on the drive side at the customer plant.

[Before]

REV８

[After the improvement]

REV９

These are three main improvements.

There are more improvements made that I was not able to share with you this time. With improvements like these, we have successfully reduced approximately one full day on the installation of the open/close-type IBIS. We are currently continuing with discussions on new efforts and research.

Our goal is to make an easier IBIS install process for everyone by completing within days. We will continue to make improvements to meet that goal.

Your feedback is important in a continuous improvement of the IBIS.
Please feel free to share your ideas with Sales or the installation team..
—————————————————————
New Member of ISOWA America
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
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. years.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2021/04/new-member-of-isowa-america.html

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We thank you for reading through the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
How did you like our press letter?
If you have an interest in a particular subject,
please kindly inform us. We are willing to bring your subject to the press.

Vol. 144: Introducing the “E-Mail Magazine” in the E-Mail Magazine?!　—Initiatives from Manufacturing Division—

04/01/202103/31/2021ISOWALeave a comment

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ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2021/04 Vol. 144
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─┬────────────────────────────────────────
1├　Introducing the “E-Mail Magazine” in the E-Mail Magazine?!　
—Initiatives from Manufacturing Division—
2├ What is a new way to utilize a “video”?
～From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY～
─┴────────────────────────────────────────
Hello everybody. I’m Hiroki Mizuno, a field service engineer
from the Overseas Service Department.

Until 2019 I had been visiting overseas customers to inspect machinery
and offer advice. But travel restrictions due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
have prevented me from traveling internationally for a year,
and I am unfortunately unable to meet our customers.

Today I would like to share a few memories from 28 years ago when I was 29.

The first time I visited the United States of America was in October 1993,
when I traveled to New Jersey.

My destination was the then-ISOWA NORTH AMERICA
(our local subsidiary at that time) for a project I was to undertake by myself
that involved assembling five mill roll stands (TMSL) with local staff.

In addition to this being my first trip to the US, the first time
I had assembled mill roll stands, and the first time I had worked
with American staff (four new hires), it was obvious that my English abilities
were not up to the task. I felt an enormous amount of pressure prior to
my departure as I worried about whether I would be able to handle working
and living without any problems.

Everything was in a state of limbo when I arrived in the US,
but as the assembling machines neared completion, the pressure on me eased,
and I began to feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Although things were difficult, it was a turning point for me and
helped in my life as an ISOWA PEOPLE after that.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 144 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER
We hope you like this edition.
———————————————————————————–
Introducing the “E-Mail Magazine” in the E-Mail Magazine?!　
—Initiatives from Manufacturing Division—
———————————————————————————–
Hello everyone. I’m Nagisa Inui from the Customer Support/Service Department.
In this issue, we will look at ISOWA’s “In-house E-mail Magazine.”

ISOWA has been distributing in-house e-mail magazines
for the past several years from every department to all ISOWA PEOPLE
with coverage of each department’s initiatives and improvements.

In this issue, we share some excerpts from the e-mail magazine
of the Manufacturing Division (Machining Department/Assembly
Department/Purchasing Department).

――――――――――――――――
● Machining Department
　”Machine Tool Leveling”

Once every two years, the machine tools at the Corrugating Roll Plant are leveled.
“Leveling” is the task of making the machinery as level as possible
while watching a spirit level.

Daily use of machines distributes forces and vibration within the machine,
which can cause a slight tilt on equipment.

Operating the machinery in such conditions may cause defects on
the machined parts. Additionally, placing significant stress on machinery
may cause mechanical troubles in the worst cases.

To ensure that machine tools have a long life, we will continue to
perform daily maintenance properly.

――――――――――――――――
● Assembly Department

“Reducing the man-hours required to install the IBIS Flexo folder gluer.”

The Assembly Department is endeavoring to reduce the man-hours required to install IBIS.

IBIS installation work can be generally divided into the following four different tasks:
*Rail installation
*Machine installation
*Assembly
*Adjustment (operation)

In this effort, we focused on the rail-related area of these tasks to reduce
the man-hours required.

The rails-installation is the most important part of installing printing units
and also the most difficult task.
There are many anchor bolts and jacks to attach, which takes time,
and hours of squatting often leads to back pain. With improvement effort,
switching to the longer and thicker anchor bolts, we succeeded in achieving
the same load-bearing capacity with only half the number of anchor bolts.

This project was carried out by a core of members chosen from each department,
with the collective knowledge of many ISOWA PEOPLE.
The members of the Engineering Department, in particular, played a role,
drawing up blueprints from load calculations.

When the members of the Assembly Department, who actually performed
the installation using the new procedure, were asked their impressions, responses included:

・ “I thought it was an extremely innovative idea.”
・ “It reduced the waiting time for riggers and added flexibility to
the machinery delivery process.”

We will continue to consider more safety, and working together,
we want to create even simpler methods for installation that anyone can do.

――――――――――――――――
● Purchasing Department

“Evolving electronic ordering system.”

The Purchasing Department has been using an electronic ordering system
since October 2018.
The current electronic ordering system allows the order-slips and drawings,
which were previously handed or mailed, to be sent as data via the internet cloud.
When ISOWA processes purchase orders, the order-slips and design data
are uploaded and then can be downloaded by TASUKE PEOPLE (vendors.)

The “new” electronic ordering system allows information to be exchanged
in both directions.

ISOWA can send information, and using the same system also allows
data to be shared. When ISOWA processes orders, TASUKE PEOPLE can check
them immediately on their screens. In addition to being able to see
the total number of issued orders or open orders , our team can also verify
the number of past-due orders in real-time.

In the future, as we develop the “new” ordering system,
we hope to cut down on the number of simple tasks and human errors even more.

We will continue to make efforts to reduce the time for simple
processing tasks. We will share ideas, work together to make
our procurement job easier. We shall use the time saved from
the process improved for pursuing “Make excellent products with
higher quality in less time.”

Afterword

Even the slightest hint of “waste, overburden, or inconsistency”
in our day-to-day office operations is a chance for improvement!!

We will consult with both junior and senior staff and do our best to work
as efficiently as possible.

――――――――――――――――
● Comments from the publisher of the Manufacturing Division e-mail magazine
Until approximately one year ago, the publication was called
the “Machining E-mail Magazine.”

Personnel in the Machining Department have few opportunities to meet customers,
and the activities of the department are mostly behind the scenes.
There were very few occasions for them to communicate anything about their department.

As the monthly distribution of the e-mail magazine began, the Machining
Department was able to convey the improvements they were undertaking daily
and their enthusiasm for the work to the entire company.

This activity spread to other departments, which led to the current form
of the Manufacturing division e-mail magazine.

The whole Manufacturing Division will continue to make ISOWA a lively place to be!

――――――――――――――――
What did you think of these interviews?

At ISOWA, every department reviews its traditional methods of
doing things and collaborates with other departments for improvements.　

Sharing the improvements made through the internal e-mail magazine creates
opportunities for new improvements and more communication between
departments. We learn things we did not know before, get hints for our work,
lead to improvements in our own departments, and inspire each other.

I believe such initiatives that extend throughout ISOWA enhance
our company and bring added value to the products we offer to customers,
which leads to making the corrugated paper people of the world happy.
We, the whole ISOWA company, will continue to devote ourselves to these efforts.

—————————————————————
What is a new way to utilize a “video”?
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
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.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2021/03/what-is-new-way-to-utilize-video.html
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Vol.143: ISOWA Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees

03/01/202102/25/2021ISOWALeave a comment

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ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2021/03 Vol. 143
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─┬───────────────────────────────────────────────
1├　　In order to work at a company that makes us and our families happy.
– ISOWA Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees
(students who received job offers with ISOWA)
2├ Finally…!
～From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY～
─┴───────────────────────────────────────────────
Greetings and Hello Everyone!
This is Clay Meline
The Normal!
Here in America, we just finished celebrating the normal holidays,
albeit it was a little out of the normal this time. The Covid Pandemic is
still running strong, and the various restrictions to help reduce
the spread have affected our celebrations during the holidays.
With that being said, my family took as many precautions
as we could and still held some gatherings with close family.
It was great to be able to spend as much time as we could together,
having good times and eating good food! I am especially blessed to have
so many good cooks in my family. I can’t even try to list all the wonderful types of food
we had during these gatherings. Very Tasty! There was a normal we could enjoy!

With the Covid pandemic, we here at Isowa America have had many challenges
to keep things normal also. But, with all of the technology on hand,
we have been able to help customers near and far with their challenges
of keeping things RUNNING and normal. With more challenges of
different strains of Covid showing up, we hope the distribution of vaccines
will help everyone get back to the normal.

As we move into the new year, we were in a normal season of Valentine’s day!
I hope you could have reached out and blessed those loved ones around you
with your affection and support. Maybe even some chocolates? During these
abnormal times, it would be greatly appreciated for sure!

I hope we can all return to more normal times soon, and I wish for all to
be successful in finding your best passage and solutions through all of
these ab-normal challenges!
Sincerely
Clay and all of my family!

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 143 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
————————————————————————————-
In order to work at a company that makes us and our families happy.
– ISOWA Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees
(students who received job offers with ISOWA)
————————————————————————————-
Hello everyone!
I’m Kondo from the Sales Department.

In this newsletter, I will tell you about the ISOWA Event for Parents and Guardians
of Prospective Employees (students who received job offers with ISOWA).

Every year around November, ISOWA invites students and their families to headquarters,
and we hold an event so that they can get a sense for themselves what sort of company ISOWA is.

I think a lot of people might not have any experience with such an event,
so I’m going to tell you all about it, focusing on why we have the Event for
Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees and what we do there.

* This year, we held it with adequate COVID-19 infection prevention measures.

◇ Why do we hold an Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees?

There is a reason unique to ISOWA why we invite students and their families to the company.
In order to be like the ISOWA corporate philosophy states, “Creating a company
with the best corporate culture in the world that makes us and our families happy,”
having families understand the workplace, gaining the support of families,
and having them become supporters is an essential part of this.

Also, some families are surely thinking, “I wonder what sort of company
my child has chosen? I’m worried…”
Perhaps there may be some people reading this very newsletter who are thinking the same thing?

We want those family members to think, “I’m so proud of my child for choosing
such a company!” Our goal is for them to feel at ease and even to become an ISOWA fan.

In order for them to learn about the atmosphere at ISOWA and the people
who work there, we hold this event every year with the cooperation of
all ISOWA people, including recruiters.

Towards the end of the event, we are pleased to hear comments from parents
and guardians such as “I feel relieved now that I know what sort of
workplace my child will be working in.” and “I had heard from
my child about the good corporate culture of ISOWA, but now I have felt it for myself.”

◇ What do we do at the Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees?

It is mainly made up of an explanation about the company, a tour of the factory
and offices (we call it the Discover ISOWA Tour), and an interactive dialogue
with parents and guardians.

At the Discover ISOWA Tour, the newest employees take charge of leading the tour
and talk about their experiences since they are closest in age to the students,
and it helps the parents and guardians imagine what it will be like when
their own children begin working there.

I spoke to the new employees who made their debuts presenting at
the Discover ISOWA Tour this November at the Event for Parents
and Guardians of Prospective Employees, and I heard their reflections.
They had participated the year before as students, and this year they were
ISOWA people cheering on the students.

How did they approach their presentation at the Discover ISOWA Tour?

・ New Employee Mr. A
When I was thinking about what to say during the Event for Parents and
Guardians of Prospective Employees, I thought about when I was in that
position myself, and how worried I was about understanding corrugated
paper machinery, something I had never learned about before.

But now, the senior members guide me and back me up, and I’m no longer worried.
I wanted to express my gratitude towards the senior members and tell the students
that if they had the same concerns, they truly didn’t have to worry,
and that’s how I did it on the day of the event.

I’m looking forward to the day when I can ask them whether
my words reached them. I’m going to continue to devote myself to my work so that,
as a senior, I can relieve the anxiety of the junior employees.

・ New Employee Ms. S
Even now, I can clearly remember the excitement I felt a year ago when I saw
my seniors present at the Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees,
and I thought, “I wonder what sort of presentation I will give a year from now?”

My parents were very excited and had more fun than anyone on the factory tour.
I was able to show my family where I would be spending my time for the next
several decades and set their minds at ease, and that made me very happy as well.

Thanks to the help of my seniors, who checked my presentation many times,
I was able to tell my story with my own life-sized thoughts and feelings.

After the presentation, many people gave me words of reward, and I gained
a renewed appreciation for the warm support of my seniors.
Thank you for such a valuable experience.

・ New Employee Ms. T
I gave my first presentation this time, and since I am not used to speaking
in front of people, I was very nervous.I also keenly felt how difficult
it could be to communicate my thoughts to other people.

I prepared the script for my presentation and read it through many times,
but on the day of the event, I found myself using all my energy just
to talk rather than to communicate.

However, through this experience, I was able to discover some things to reflect
upon and some ways I can improve, so I will utilize this in the future.

My presentation at this year’s Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective
Employees will be preserved on video, and I will work hard so that
when I watch it again in three years or five years’ time, I will be able to think,
“Look how much I’ve grown!”

・ New Employee Mr. I
I can still remember how nervous I felt last year at the Event for Parents
and Guardians of Prospective Employees. When I heard my seniors give
their presentations and I wondered if I’d be able to do the same thing a year later.
I’m not good at writing, but because I read it with my seniors many times
until right before the presentation, I was able to have confidence,
and I gave my presentation without hesitation.

I stuffed everything I felt in the half-year since I joined the company into
my presentation. When I was in high school, I participated in an ISOWA factory tour,
and I felt the working environment and how friendly all the employees were.
I felt that same energy from the seniors who helped me prepare for my presentation.

・ New Employee Mr. M
Last year, what I felt from the Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective
Employees was the friendliness and warmth of ISOWA people.
After I joined the company and I interacted with my seniors, I felt that even more strongly.

For me, that is connected to the good atmosphere in the company,
and I began to think of that as what ISOWA is all about.
This year, I made a presentation that I hoped would communicate to the students
even a little of how friendly and warm my seniors are.

I hope that my juniors will also communicate the essence of ISOWA to the students next year.

・ New Employee Mr. N
Last year, when I participated in the Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees,
I listened to the presentations of my seniors, and I couldn’t even imagine
what sort of presentation I would give the following year.
When it came time for me to write my presentation, I thought about
what I wanted the students who I would soon be working with to remember about me.

Every time I had my seniors brush up my writing, I had other things I wanted to add,
and my essay got so long it wouldn’t fit in the allotted time.
It was hard to edit and memorize the long essay, but I was able to give
a presentation that was true to myself.

Every year, the parents and guardians who see the presentations by new employees say,
“Will my child also be able to speak so well in just one year?”
Of course, I told them that ISOWA people would raise them with love so that
they will be able to do it, but naturally, the parents and guardians still worry.

In order for these family members to see how their children had grown,
this year we tried something new, called “Invite the families again one year later
to see how active their children are at the Event for Parents and Guardians
of Prospective Employees.”

I hope that the parents and guardians can see how their children’s bosses and
seniors have guided them with love, and how much they have grown so that
they are able to give their presentation debut, and that this will help them feel relieved.

This year, due to the impact of COVID-19, it was harder to achieve the event,
and we had to send videos of the presentations to parents and guardians through the mail.
I’m looking forward to finding out how they react.

It has been four years since I joined the company, but I looked back on my own
Event for Parents and Guardians of Prospective Employees.

At that event, one of the senior ISOWA people said, “The reason why
you will be able to be independent is thanks to your parents and families.
Please convey your thanks to your parents and families.”
Those words really left an impression on me.

In the future, no matter how many years pass, I will never forget my gratitude
to my parents and family who supported me.

I’m going to keep on thinking about what I can do to create a company
with the best corporate culture in the world in order to make us and our families happy.
—————————————————————
Finally…!
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
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.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2020/12/long-term-partnership-based-on-mutual.html
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Vol.142: Remote installation

02/01/202101/28/2021ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWSLETTER
2021/02 Vol. 142
———————————————–

─┬───────────────────────────────────
1├　Remote installation
2├ Welcome Back!
～From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY～
─┴───────────────────────────────────
How is everyone doing these days?
In Japan, the coldest time of the year lasts from the second half
of January through February. Around this time, many ISOWA people
go for a complete medical check-up.
This is done every five years until age 35, then every year from age 35 and up.
I don’t know why we do this during the coldest season of the year.
I think maybe because the doctor’s office is not as crowded as usual around this time.

Actually, for me, going through this full medical check-up is always a bit worrisome.
You might know that around New Year’s in Japan, we eat mochi, rice cakes.
It’s not that we have to eat them, but it’s tradition, so why not?
I like mochi, so if I find it at home, I eat it.
Although it isn’t higher in calories than regular rice, for some reason,
I always eat too much of it.

Add to that fact, I tend to stay at home during the cold season.
I don’t go outside to exercise, and even when I go to the store close to home,
I end up driving my car.

So even though I’m supposed to live more of a healthy lifestyle to
prepare for my health check-up at this time, it’s always hard for me.
Even for people like me who aren’t overweight, it’s a pretty nerve-wracking time
if your cholesterol is a bit high.

Well, I guess I could just eat less and get outside even though it’s cold…
OK, I hope you enjoy the ISOWA NEWSLETTER Vol.142.
———————————————–
Remote installation
———————————————–
Hello everyone.
Get ready for some news from the Export Section.

Since March of last year , entry and travel restrictions in most countries
due to COVID-19 have generally made it impossible for engineers from Japan
to travel for equipment installation.
Because of this, we had to ask customers to agree to delayed installation schedules.
Even so, various local circumstances have forced some customers to request
equipment installation on-schedule.

In thinking, if it was possible to accommodate their requests, we decided to
use engineers in Japan to remotely check sites and provide equipment
installation instructions to staff in North America only, where ISOWA AMERICA (IA)
is located. In Japanese industry newspapers, you may have read how
we conducted remote equipment installation of a flexo folder gluer for
a customer in the U.S., later completing the installation of a second
flexo folder gluer with no problems starting production.

We would like to take this opportunity to share some of the things
that happened during this initiative. Some of the hardships,
unexpected good things during remote support, what should be improved
going forward, and some stories from people actually involved in equipment installation.

Usually, when installing flexo folder gluers in North America, mechanical
and electrical engineers are dispatched from Japan to work with
IA service engineers and local contractors that have an agreement with IA.
Because engineers could not be sent from Japan, the first thing
they did was develop the documentation, such as installation procedures,
so that the installation project can be completed successfully with local team members only.

Mr. Y from the Technical Support Section says,
“I was able to organize and put together assembly and wiring procedures
I had in mind and include them in the documents.”

Mr. O from the Assembly Section says,
“In addition to machinery installation methods, we included the information
which even Japanese staff tends to forget sometimes, in a written format,
such as where machinery fixtures should be used, removal procedures, etc.”
As shown by their comments, they developed documentation we have
never made before based on their experiences.

However, these documents were not created just for IA engineers to
use in this particular installation process, rather there was an additional goal.

Mr. Y from the Technical Support Section explains, “In addition to future
remote equipment installations, I think even people with minimal installation
experience will be able to complete their task by following these documents.”

Mr. O from the Assembly Section tells us, “There were very few documents
that explained equipment installation in an easy-to-understand way for staff
with little experience, so I’m glad we had this opportunity to develop them
for remote work. They can be used not only overseas but in Japan as well.”

In this way, the staff prepared documentation ahead of time and used Skype
during actual equipment installation to hold regular meetings.
Each time there was a question or problem, the staff called via Skype to resolve
the issue and move forward.

Mr. H from the Assembly Section says,
“Usually, when we receive an inquiry from the site, and we email them back
with items to confirm or instructions, we don’t receive a response until
the next day due to time differences. Then we have to go through the trouble
of responding to that message again. However, Skype allows you to talk
to the other party while checking photos and videos on the same screen,
making communication much clearer.”
Although we could have used this method before the COVID-19 crisis,
maybe this very situation led to adopting this idea.

In the same way, Mr. F, an on-site IA engineer, said, “Any time we had
a problem or concern, we could immediately call via Skype for feedback,
so it was helpful for solving problems quickly.

Also, because we could show the site while explaining instead of just talking
on the phone, it was easier to share what was going on.” From this explanation,
we can see how useful video calls were to the process.

This allowed the team to proceed with equipment installation, test runs and
start regular production line operation almost on the usual schedule,
making the customer very happy. However, Mr. Y from the Technical Support Section
talked about various difficulties, saying, “Talking on Skype while other machines
were running made it difficult to hear the other party.”

Mr. F from IA explains a difficult situation, saying, “Some of the information
in the instruction we received was hard to understand where exactly
it was referring to on the actual machine.”

Because there will likely be more chances to perform remote equipment
installation in the future, Mr. H from the Assembly Section had the following
to say regarding future improvements,

“If there is a real-time video feed while the installation teams are handling
the actual installation, it would be easier for the Japanese support team to
explain key points, which would be good for leading to more growth of our teams.”

Mr. O from the Assembly Section said, “I think using this remote installation
experience to identify and share concerns between the teams could lead to
improving the knowledge and abilities for everyone. ”

These two remote equipment installations were the first of their kind for us,
and although we had to feel our way through them, we can now make various
improvements to bring them to the next level.
Mr. O from the Assembly Section says, “I believe through this remote
equipment installation, we have identified some real capabilities of
the team and where we need to focus more attention in the future. ”

Finally, Mr. S from the Export Section, who handled the overall
coordination for the remote equipment installation, had the following to say.
“Remote support via Skype was handled at 7:00 A.M. Japan time and 5:00 P.M.
local time in the U.S. Although we tried our best to provide answers to
any questions from the site right away, there were times when we needed
to make other arrangements.
For such questions, we completed our research during the day in Japan,
then replied before the end of the day. This allowed us to deliver answers
to any questions the local team in the U.S. had by the start of installation
or regular production line operation observation on the next day.
These efforts helped eliminate lost time, enable smooth equipment installation
and observation of regular production line operation. With the Japanese
and American teams working together, the customer was satisfied,
which makes me very happy.”

Despite the various challenges presented by COVID-19 and the time differences,
staff worked together across borders to share knowledge and cooperate to
accomplish this mission and deliver good results.

Although we may be limited to provide service as usual to all customers,
we will continue to strive to reach the next level by combining all our knowledge
and overcoming whatever obstacles come our way.
—————————————————————
Welcome Back!
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
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!

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2021/01/welcome-back.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol.141: Expanding the Kaizen Circle – What is the ISOWA-style Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal? 2/2

01/01/202112/25/2020ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2021/01 Vol. 141
———————————————–

─┬──────────────────────────────────────────
1├　Expanding the Kaizen Circle
– What is the ISOWA-style
Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal?　2/2
2├ Long-term Partnership Based on Mutual Trust
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴──────────────────────────────────────────
Greetings again from Arizona! This is Ann Marie from Isowa America in Phoenix.
Most people who know me would agree that I am a foodie. I love to cook and
try new foods; both in my kitchen and in restaurants. When my husband and
I plan a vacation, I immediately begin researching to find restaurants that
serve foods on my “bucket list” or new foods that are unique to the area.

I have worked for Isowa America for 18 years and have heard about many
Japanese foods that have made it to my bucket list. Typically, I can try
those foods quickly; however, there are a few that have been on my list for years,
including Kobe beef.
Kobe beef is Wagyu beef from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle,
raised in Japan’s Hyōgo Prefecture according to rules set out by
the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association.
The meat is a delicacy, valued for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty,
well-marbled texture. Because Kobe beef is regulated under a strict
quota and tariff system, less than ten restaurants in the United States
are license to serve this delicacy, and those that do, charge roughly $75
per ounce: with a minimum purchase of four ounces.
Arizona does not have a restaurant that offers this rare beef.

My husband and I recently visited Las Vegas and a month before we left,
I began searching their restaurants for foods on my bucket list. I was pleasantly
surprised to find three restaurants in Las Vegas offering Kobe beef!
After doing some research and verifying with the Kobe Beef Marketing
and Distribution Promotion Association, we chose a restaurant located
at the Wynn Resort and made reservations.

The beef was extremely rich, so I was glad I ordered the minimum four ounces.
I had never eaten such a tender piece of meat that “melted in your mouth”.
Our dining experience was incredible and unforgettable. In addition to finally
checking Kobe beef off my list, the waiter brought my husband and me an appetizer,
compliments of the chef. The appetizer was Tuna Tartare topped with caviar.
These foods were also on my bucket list, so I was able to check off three foods
in one meal. If you find yourself in the position to try this beef, please do so.
Now that my list is almost empty, it is time to begin a new list!

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 141 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.

————————————————————–
Expanding the Kaizen Circle
– What is the ISOWA-style Continuous
-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal?　2/2
————————————————————–
Hi, I’m Nagisa Inui from the Sales Department.
I’ll be continuing with our topic from last time,
talking about the ISOWA Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal Program.

In this issue, I interviewed the people who recently won the gold prize
for their proposal, as well as a member of the Continuous-Improvement
Committee, who manages the program and evaluates the Continuous-
Improvement (Kaizen) Proposals.

<Gold Prize-Winning Members: Ms. Yamauchi, Ms. Kameoka, Ms. Kondo>
“We were recognized with the gold prize for our work on digitizing
the work report system.

For the longest time, we had to write individuals ’ worked hours
for each month by hand into work reports, which then had to be
checked one-by-one by another employee.
We struggled with the effort it took to write it by hand,
with the human error factors that came with using a calculator
to tally numbers, and with efficiently distributing overtime.
We wanted to improve it, so we decided to digitize them.

When we first went from paper to digital, we didn’t have any specialized
knowledge. We struggled a lot to put together Excel functions that fit
the work system of each department. There were times when we almost
gave up, but we had the support of those around us, and we achieved
digitization. We never thought we would win a gold prize, so we were
more surprised than happy when we found out we won, but at the same time,
we felt a great sense of accomplishment.

It had mainly been the job of administrative staff to take care of
the work reports, and they also did the digitization.
Hopefully, this improvement will lead to further progress
for the administrative team at ISOWA. Using what we learned from this,
we want to continue to have an ‘I’ll do it!’ volunteering spirit
and tackle continuous-improvement of work tasks with a positive attitude.”

I interviewed Mr. T from the Continuous-Improvement Committee.

“I have been on the Continuous-Improvement Committee for about ten years.
But it was only after I heard the reports from the members who
visited Nabari Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in 2019 did I realize how much room
there was for improvements in our Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen)
Proposal Program itself.

Over the past year, the eight members of the Committee have held
many discussions. I feel like we have made the program a little more
accessible for all employees than they had been in the past.
I will work even harder to ensure that even more people feel free
to submit even better ideas in the future.”

Talking to Mr. T, I felt that the motivation of the Continuous-Improvement
Committee to improve corporate culture through the Continuous-
Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal Program would spread to every employee
and help to have different perspectives that cause people to question
their beliefs and think, “Could I make it better? Is there another way?”

Although it may be difficult to draw a direct connection between
the everyday work and company profits, some people said,
“The Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal reduced expenses,”
“Because I was able to see the results with my own eyes,
I felt like I had truly contributed to the company.”

I hope that ISOWA people will continue to pursue “Human-Friendly
and Machine-Friendly” and continuously improve our products and
in-house environment. Additionally, I hope that this two-part
series will serve as inspiration for everyone to develop a
Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal program for your own office or factory.
—————————————————————
Long-term Partnership Based on Mutual Trust
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
Our customer visited us for the final checkup of their Flexo Folder Gluer Ibis.
They were completely satisfied with the machine quality.
We are going to install the Ibis in their factory site at the end of this month.

Vol. 140: Expanding the Kaizen Circle ~ What is the ISOWA-style Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal? 1/2 ~

12/01/202011/26/2020ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2020/12 Vol. 140
———————————————–

─┬────────────────────────────────────
1├　Expanding the Kaizen Circle
What is the ISOWA-style
Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal?　1/2
2├ A new Isowa-bito (staff) is born
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴────────────────────────────────────

Hello. I’m Taka from the ISOWA Sales Department, Export Section.

2020 has been a really tough year with Covid-19 spreading
around the world, hasn’t it? This year, I heard a lot of words that
I had never heard before, such as “quarantine” and “lockdown.”
In this foreword, I’d like to talk about my experiences playing at home
with my children amidst the Covid-19 situation that has caused
everyone so much damage and confusion.

I have two very energetic children aged 2 and 6. The whole Covid-19 issue
made us hesitant to take them to crowded places like amusement parks,
beaches, and playgrounds . This summer, I succeeded in raising
my children’s satisfaction levels by installing a wading pool ,
but we won’t get through the winter season with just a simple pool
(maybe I should try putting hot water in it?). Although they are happy
watching things like TV and movies, I don’t think that’s best for them.

I was thinking about this and had an idea. I’m not sure if
it really will be an effective way to teach the children or not,
but I had this idea of playing educational games with them.
Specifically, practicing the times-tables, playing Concentration,
and drawing scenes from stories. My elder child had learned
how to chant part of a Buddhist sutra by heart, and my younger child
learned to do it as well just by copying. So I thought I might as well
teach them to chant their times-tables in the same way as they will
eventually have to learn them anyway. I don’t think they understand
the meaning of the sutras or the times-tables yet, but it’s so funny to
watch them chant, and it’s cute, too. (They say “Roku Ha Shijuni”
(6 x 8 is 42) – laugh)

The card game we play, Concentration, is something I can join in on,
and we enjoy playing it together. The most significant effect I noticed
is that my younger child, who couldn’t match any cards at first,
has begun to win the game more and more. It’s a card game,
so there is a tendency to get competitive, but I told the kids,
“It’s not a competition. It’s training for your brain.” In this way,
I try to make sure they are always having fun. I think my younger
one especially is enjoying playing this game.

Lastly, we do drawing activities of the scenes from stories.
For example, when I am reading the Harry Potter series to them,
there are certain scenes that particularly catch their attention.
Next, I will read them that part again on another day.
I ask them to use their imaginations and picture that scene.
Then I have them draw it with colored pencils or crayons.
They have not yet seen any of the Harry Potter movies or picture books,
so they draw exactly how they imagine it. As a parent, I get surprised
at what they have drawn, thinking, “I suppose that is one way
to understand it!” or “They have really understood it well!”
This is a game my older child especially likes.

I’m writing this in October, but by the time this issue is published,
it will be December.
By then, I will probably have come up with a new
“educational game (?)” for my kids.
If you know of any good games to help raise my intellectual level,
please let me know.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 140 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
——————————————————————————————————-
Expanding the Kaizen Circle
~ What is the ISOWA-style Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal? 1/2 ~
——————————————————————————————————-
Hi, I’m Nagisa Inui from the Sales Department.

In this issue, we will look at ISOWA’s Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen)
Proposal Program over the course of two issues.

The Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal Program was created
with the goal of encouraging employees to think creatively about
familiar problems in the workplace, to eliminate waste, to improve
the workplace environment, and to improve quality and efficiency.

The targets include:
・Preventing defective products
・Conserving materials
・Improving machines and equipment
・Improving the workplace environment
・Improving work processes
・Improving efficiency in the office works
・Reducing costs of goods
・Reducing business expenses
・Safety and health …and more.

The ISOWA Continuous-Improvement committee was established
as an extension of our QC activities, right around 1989 .　Later, after
approximately 30 years, a visit to the Nabari Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
in 2019 brought about a huge turning point.

Nabari Manufacturing specializes in assembling air conditioning
compressors for automobiles .　The company is actively engaged in
improvement activities and continuously achieving results in terms
of quality and price. We were very impressed to see how they took
advantage of their strengths in improving their workplace,
diligently maintaining quality while working on how to produce
the same products at lower costs.

(You can also read the story in ISOWA Diary (only available in Japanese).)
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/h_isowa/e/55758ee3fbc5f1dc690e0a963015b27c
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/h_isowa/e/db1793c0c31a182fd921d6162728b6fc

“What is the process after a proposal is submitted at ISOWA?”
“Do people see the efforts of those who are working hard to
come up with lots of improvement suggestions ?”
“Could there be a better way to run the Continuous-Improvement
(Kaizen) Program?” In these ways, we began discussing whether
we could change the Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal
Program and improve corporate culture.

・Making submitted proposals visible
・Raising awareness of the Continuous-Improvement (Kaizen) Proposal Program.
・Changing how people are rewarded for such proposals
These measures and others like them made progress.
Although until 2019, only the manufacturing department
had been submitting proposals, other departments such as sales,
service, and administration also began to submit their proposals!

Some of the actual proposals submitted are as follows:

(On-site examples)
・Making installation works more efficient
・Additional safety measures for preparing pressure-proof test s …and more.
・Improving a method for serving tea for visitors/guests
・Digitization of business trip reports, work reports …and more.

The proposals submitted are awarded in four ways
– Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron awards. Better proposals receive
financial rewards. Gold, silver, and bronze awards recipients are
presented together with cash awards during the morning-meeting
of the awardee’s department.

(Award scene at a morning meeting ↓)

newsletter vol 140

In the next issue, I will present some interviews with ISOWA people
who have received these awards.
See you then!

———————————————————————–
A new Isowa-bito (staff) is born
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
———————————————————————–
Today, I introduce a young man, Mr. N, who will join our company next year.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2020/11/a-new-isowa-bito-staff-is-born.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol. 139: New! ISOWA Nakatsugawa

11/01/202010/29/2020ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2020/11 Vol. 139
———————————————–

─┬───────────────────────────────────────
1├　New! ISOWA Nakatsugawa
2├　Further Step Up of Remote Installation
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────────────────────────
Hello everyone,
My name is Vanessa Benesch. I began my journey at ISOWA
in December of 2019 as part of the Accounting team in the Phoenix office.
Originally from a small town in Nebraska, I moved back to Phoenix
in August of 2015. There are many advantages of living in a big city.
One of the things I love about living in Phoenix is that there are
a ton of concert venues. My favorite pastime is to hear live music
and to dance. I have been attending concerts since I was 15, mostly in Phoenix.
I enjoy all genres of music, but I especially like rock-n-roll. Last summer,
I was able to see Carlos Santana and revel in what an amazing guitar
player he is! It was an incredible concert! I have attended live shows
for many different types of music. Some classic rock bands I have seen
are Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Miller Band, John Cougar Mellencamp and
Aerosmith. I especially enjoy hearing the female artists and have attended
shows for Heart, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar and Evanescence. Some of
the hard rock bands I have had an opportunity to see are Metallica, Ozzy Osborne
and Tool. The list goes on and on. I can’t even count how many concerts
I have gone to, but I can estimate that it is at least seventy. I even got
on stage with George Clinton and danced with him! Over the years,
I have won several sets of tickets from contests on the radio including
Heart and Duran Duran with Chic. Every time I have won tickets,
they give me seats to the VIP section. How cool is that!
I have yet to see Bon Jovi, Poison and Stevie Nicks in concert,
but they are all on my bucket list! I am looking forward to attending Maroon 5
with Meghan Trainor and Matchbox 20 as I already have tickets for these shows.
I prefer to attend concerts at outdoor venues because I find that the sound
quality is much better, and I have plenty of room to get up and dance!
Phoenix has a plethora of outdoor shows so I attend as many as I possibly can.
It’s a great way to relax and have fun so I hope that you can attend a concert
by your favorite artist as well. Enjoy the rest of the Newsletter!

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 139 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
———————————————–
New! ISOWA Nakatsugawa
———————————————–
This past June, ISOWA Nakatsugawa came into being
as part of ISOWA Group. Is it a newly established company?
Another sales office? In order to answer such questions,
the theme of this issue is “New! ISOWA Nakatsugawa!”

1. New! ISOWA Nakatsugawa

In June 2020, Hotoku Kogyo Co., Ltd. changed its name to
ISOWA Nakatsugawa and took a new step towards unifying
the ISOWA Group.

Like ISOWA, I hope that the name change will be a major
inspiration for improving their corporate culture and working
towards fulfilling our corporate philosophy.
They have already been using the same blue work clothes as ISOWA.
With the company name change, the logos on the company cars will
also be unified with ISOWA. We are even planning on installing an ISOWA sign!

2. What is ISOWA Nakatsugawa?

There may be some people who aren’t familiar, so I’ll give a quick rundown.

ISOWA Nakatsugawa is located at 30 minutes by car from the
Ena Interchange on the Chuo Expressway, in Hirukawa,
Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture.
Just like the ISOWA head office, it is in a quiet, pastoral area
surrounded by rice fields. There is a famous sightseeing spot,
the Ena Gorge, nearby.

There are 13 employees, mainly from the local area.
They mostly do machine maintenance for customers in the Tono area.
When it comes to making corrugated paper machinery,
they are in charge of assembling corrugator stackers, double facers,
and mill roll tracks. They have traveled to customers all over Japan
to modify and install corrugator stackers.

We are looking forward to continuing to work with you,
not as Hotoku Kogyo from now on, but as ISOWA Nakatsugawa.

3. What was its predecessor corporation, Hotoku Kogyo?

ISOWA Nakatsugawa is still new, so I am going to talk a bit
about its predecessor, Hotoku Kogyo.

Hotoku Kogyo was established in 1968 as a subsidiary of ISOWA.
When it was established, it was responsible not only for repairing
corrugated paper machinery but also for repairing stone processing machines.
Since Hirukawa, where Hotoku Kogyo was located, was a granite
production area with many stone shops, the company occasionally
received requests for repair of stone processing machines.

In the late 1970s, Hotoku Kogyo made turnover-type mill roll stands
called HRS from design to installation.
Four of those units are still in operation with customers nearby.

In 1991, they built a new plant and office and gradually
added laser processing machines, presses, welding machines, and more.
In 2017 the company celebrated its 50th anniversary.
An employee who had worked there for more than 30 years said,
“In the old days, the Hotoku Kogyo plant was dirty, and nobody
greeted each other. But now, the plant is clean, and everyone greets
one another.” Another employee said, “In the past, everyone had
the craftsman’s mindset and believed that it was more a case of learning
from observing others rather than being taught, but that has gradually changed.”
Just like at ISOWA, things are gradually improving.

4. Interview with the person in charge

Finally, I have an interview with the person in charge at
ISOWA Nakatsugawa on reflections about this moment!

Q1. What are the strengths of ISOWA Nakatsugawa?

About half of our employees have multiple skills, such as machining,
assembly, and repair.
They can immediately take care of any unexpected parts that need
repair or can handle machining defects during assembly.

Q2. The name of the company has changed, but do you feel any different?

Even before the name change, we were working at installations
and repairs as a member of All ISOWA.
Now that the name of the company has changed to ISOWA Nakatsugawa,
I feel even closer to ISOWA.
It inspires me to take responsibility for every action I take, even more than before.

Q3. What are your plans for the immediate future?

All of the employees here will recognize that we are members of
the ISOWA Group and continue to strive to make our customers happy.
In order to do so, we believe that individual development is
the first step, and we are beginning to plan a variety of initiatives.
For example, we are planning on sending our staff from ISOWA Nakatsugawa
to ISOWA head office to assemble machines with their assembly
department team and participate in the manufacturing training provided there.
We aim to provide opportunities for them to further build their skills
and learn from one another.

Also, we will increase the opportunities to share with
the head office and hold more discussions than ever before to
reflect on installation projects after it is finished and plan measures
for the future.

From now on, in addition to speedy and careful work, we will
strengthen our relationships with our customers so that they can
come to consult with us directly, not only by us doing repairs and
installations but also by us listening to their problems.
We will continue to work hard to bring joy to our customers.

Q4. Lastly, please send out a message to our customers.

I’m sure there are some who have known about Hotoku Kogyo,
and others who are hearing about us for the first time.
When we visit for installation work, repairs, and others as a member
of ISOWA Group, we will do our best to make our customers happy.

Thank you for your continued support for ISOWA Nakatsugawa.

ISOWA Nakatsugawa and ISOWA will strengthen our teamwork,
striving to meet customer expectations even better.

Please keep an eye out for what the new ISOWA Nakatsugawa
will be up to in the future!
—————————————————————
Further Step Up of Remote Installation
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
In September, we had another installation overseas,
but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were still in a difficult situation
to send people from Japan to America. As a result, we had to complete
the installation with remote support like we shared with everyone before.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2020/10/further-step-up-of-remote-installation.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol. 138: Utilization of Foreign Human Resources through the Technical Intern Training Program

10/01/202009/30/2020ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2020/10 Vol. 138
———————————————–

─┬─────────────────────────────────────
1├　Utilization of Foreign Human Resources
through the Technical Intern Training Program
2├　Jibun-gatari by three mid-career members
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴─────────────────────────────────────
Hello everyone!
I’m Kazumi Kato from the Export Department.

Here in Japan, once we entered September, we finally started to get cooler weather,
and it feels a little like autumn.
This summer, it was very hot every day. Here in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture,
where we live, the average temperature for a day in August was 30.3 degrees Celsius,
and 22 days out of the month were “extremely hot days,” which is the official classification
for a day where the maximum temperature exceeds 35 degrees. This was the largest number
of days on record since record-keeping began in 1890.

I’d like to tell a quick story about a trip I took with the other three members
of my family to Hokkaido last year. About one year ago, from August 18 to the 20th,
we spent a two-night, three-day stay. Myself, my wife, and our two daughters
went sightseeing around Sapporo on the first day. On the second day, we went to
Furano and Biei, where there is a lot of beautiful scenery and nature.
On the final day, we visited Otaru, a port town where there are warehouses
and canals from the town’s burgeoning past.

Hokkaido is so vast in scale, and nature is so magnificent that we felt like
we had traveled to another country. It has a unique atmosphere compared
to the rest of Japan. All the towns and regions we visited, and the things we saw
and felt remain with me today as good memories. Another thing Hokkaido
is known for is its delicious food.
There are famous Hokkaido dishes like fresh seafood and delicious ramen,
as well as a BBQ lamb or mutton dish called Genghis Khan, which is very popular
with locals and visitors alike.

With sightseeing and traveling in summer, and winter sports like skiing and
snowboarding in winter, Hokkaido is now a popular destination for fun year-round,
even for international visitors.
Currently, the whole world is facing difficult times due to the impact of Covid-19,
but I am certain that it won’t be long before we can go back to our normal way of life.
If any of you are thinking about taking a trip to Japan in the future, please add Hokkaido
to your list of possible destinations. I definitely recommend it.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 138 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
———————————————————————
Utilization of Foreign Human Resources
through the Technical Intern Training Program
———————————————————————
Hi, I’m Nagisa Inui from the Customer Support/Service Department.
In Japan, a new Work Style Reform Bill came into force in April of last year.
Here at ISOWA, each one of us is thinking harder than ever every day as we work
in order to reduce overtime hours.

At a time like this, when the topic of work style reform is on everyone’s lips,
one change that has come along with overtime limits is the utilization of foreign human resources.

The number of foreign workers in Japan has been growing every year.
A new status of residence (*) was introduced in April 2019,
and now it is said that there are 1.66 million foreign workers employed in Japan
as of the end of February 2020.

Let’s take a look at why Japan is increasing its intake acceptance of foreign labor.
There are two main reasons.

1. Decline in the productive domestic population
The productive population refers to people aged 15 to 60, and it has been in
a steady decline since 2008.

This population peaked in 1997 with 86.99 million people, and by February of 2019,
it had dropped to 76.28 million.
I was surprised to know that it had dropped by 11.71 million in just 22 years.

Some data suggest that this population will drop to 63 million by 2036.
The birthrate is declining, and the population is aging at an alarming rate.

2. High level of jobs-to-applicants ratio
Currently, it has dropped slightly due to the impact of Covid-19, but even so,
as of July 2020, the effective jobs-to-applicants ratio is 1.08.
This means for every hundred people looking for work, there are 108 jobs.
Before Covid-19, this ratio had progressed to around 1.6 and was remaining high.

Simply said, Japan is in a situation with plenty of jobs, but not enough workers.

Now you see this is where “Utilization of Foreign Human Resources” comes in.

There are several different statuses of residence for foreign workers in Japan.
Here I will discuss some issues specific to the paper machinery and corrugated paper industry.

Most of the foreign workers in the corrugated paper and packaging industry
are “Technical Intern Trainees.”

“Trainee” is a type of status of residence.
The purpose of the Technical Intern Training Program is to make international
contributions by helping people to acquire skills, techniques, and/or
knowledge cultivated in Japan so that they may go on to utilize those skills
in their home countries and assist in the development of the industry.

In order to stay in Japan as a technical intern trainee, it is necessary to pass
regularly-scheduled examinations.

At the end of the first year: Trainees, who pass the written and practical exams,
progress to Technical Intern Training (ii) and are able to continue their training in Japan.

At the end of the third year: Trainees, who pass the practical exam,
progress to Technical Intern Training (iii), and after temporarily returning
to their home country (for at least a month), they are able to work in Japan
for two more years.

The program allows the trainees from overseas to stay for a maximum of five years,
but apparently, in practice, most of the trainees return home after three years.

Now I’ll introduce some customer voices from companies who are accepting
foreign human resources.

Company A

When we accepted our trainee, we first set a variety of rules and
developed a work instruction manual. We had to introduce him to the lifestyle
and culture of Japan, which was difficult at times, but the young man who came
is very hardworking and is quick to learn things.
He still can’t understand Japanese very well, but he is a good person and earnest.

Company B

We tried advertising for part-timers, but we couldn’t get enough people,
so we decided to try accepting foreign human resources.
Teaching them was a big task, but thanks to the foreign trainees coming,
our employees talk to each other more, and the worksite has gotten much cheerier.

Company C

As they need to send money to their families living back in their home country,
they’re very serious about their work.
They observe the work closely, and light up with lights or bring spot-coolers
(portable air-conditioner) when necessary without being asked.
I feel like Japanese people could learn a lot from the way the trainees learn
by observing the senior members.

Although it may seem like the Technical Intern Training Program has
a lot of good points, the process can take half a year at best, to a full year,
for a company to finally be able to accept trainees.

The process Japanese companies go through in order to accept
technical intern trainees is as follows:
1. Personally, go overseas to the sending organization to interview
and select candidates.
2. Prepare a technical intern training plan for each trainee and receive accreditation.
3. Once the technical intern training plans are accredited, apply for
Certificates of Eligibility for the Status of Residence.
4. Once the Certificates of Eligibility for the Status of Residence are acquired,
apply for visas.
5. Once the visas are acquired, the trainees can come to Japan.
6. After entering Japan, the trainees undergo a month of statutory lectures.

After all that, they can finally begin their technical training.

In order to use the Technical Intern Training Program, it’s necessary to
be very well-organized from the planning stage onward.
There is a range of restrictions in place for both companies and workers,
so this program won’t easily solve Japan’s labor shortage.

Foreign trainees who come as technical interns often can’t speak Japanese,
but I think the way they tackle their work diligently and earnestly can teach
today’s Japanese people a lot.

In the future, I hope that a system for longer-term residency will be made
available to the and corrugated paper and packaging industry as well.
When that day comes, I will announce it in the ISOWA NEWS LETTER!

Thank you very much.
—————————————————————
Jibun-gatari by three mid-career members
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
Although Obon holidays in Japan had finished, there was still pre-shipment
inspection for overseas customers.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2020/09/jibun-gatari-by-three-mid-career-members.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol. 137: ISOWA America Relocation 2/2

09/01/202008/28/2020ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2020/09 Vol. 137
———————————————–

─┬──────────────────────────────────
1├ ISOWA America Relocation　2/2
2├ Customer’s Words That Made Us Delighted
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴──────────────────────────────────
Hello everyone,

My name is Vanessa Nunez. I joined the Isowa team back in August of 2018
and am currently working in the accounting department at the Phoenix office.
I was born and raised in Phoenix and am of Hispanic descent. My parents are both
from Chihuahua, Mexico. In this segment, I would like to share with you some
of my Mexican culture, our traditions, and our celebrations.

There are a number of traditional holidays and celebrations that are unique to Mexico,
such as Dia de los Muertos or Day of the dead, which is celebrated November 2nd.
Altars are built in honor of the departed and adorned with flowers as well as
the departed’s favorite foods. The appearance of the Virgin Mary to an Indian man
named Juan Diego is celebrated on December 12th. Dances of different kinds are
performed to honor her. This celebration is followed by Las Posadas. Posadas
is a nine-day celebration in which people re-enact Mary & Joseph’s Journey
to Bethlehem to search for a place to stay. Friends and family will go from door
to door carrying candles & singing, asking for a place to stay until the owners open
the door. When the door is opened, everyone gets together to enjoy food, such as
tamales and Champurrado, as well as treats for the kids. Another big celebration is
a young ladies’ 15th birthday. Also known as a Quinceañera. During this event,
the girl’s father will change her shoes from flats to high heels as a symbolism
of the Quinceañeras transformation from a girl to a young lady. The event
consists of lively music such as Mariachi. Common Mexican food such as rice,
beans, salsa, and tortillas are served with the main entrée.

Our cultural values include family and respect. Family comes first.
We are taught to treat our parents with a high degree of respect.
When we have visitors, they are meant to be made feel comfortable.
Children are taught the importance of honor, good manners, and respect
for our elders. We are generally very close with our extended relatives and
invite everyone to family functions such as birthdays. We try to always be
there for one another during both happy and difficult times.

I could go on longer and tell you about our myths and legends, such as La Llorona.
Tell you about our Mexican arts, which involve pottery, bright-colored garments,
mosaics, and tiles. Even talk to you about our indigenous people. However,
I think I will save that for another segment.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 137 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
—————————————————————
ISOWA America Relocation　2/2
—————————————————————
Hello, everyone! Continuing with the previous issue, this is Ron Miller,
President of ISOWA AMERICA.
This is the second issue of “ISOWA America Relocation.” As most great
efforts are a result of a team effort and carry with it the shared dreams
of the future, so too is this effort for the relocation. In this issue, I would
like to share with you what some of our team members had to say about
the move and the future from their perspective.

Mr. Hagopian from our Phoenix Operations Team In preparing for
our physical move, there were many things that needed to be reviewed
and prepared for, which required months of planning and effort.
We decided to do the physical move ourselves, and I must begin
by giving credit to a great team who made it happen safely
and at the same time, allowing us to continue to operate without interruption.
All members contributed and took on additional responsibilities for the move.
We had two working groups. One team was responsible for the design
of the new office as well as coordinating the transfer of the many
services we need to operate with. The other team was responsible
for coordinating the physical move of over $3 million in inventory,
dismantling, laying out, and re-installing all the racking and
moving the office furniture.
During the entire process, there were many additional details
that came up with the remodeling of our new building. From deciding
the location of a new water fountain and light fixtures to the type of
warehouse floor sealer. It was a lot of work, but one I will always
remember with fondness as the result was proof of a great team effort.

Ms. Smith from our Administration Team
Greetings! My name is Akemi Smith, and coordinating our safety program
is one of my responsibilities at Isowa America. Everyone’s safety is essential
to us, and our management put a lot of effort into planning and
preparing our new Phoenix facility with “safety-first” in mind.
Our new facility is equipped with many improved safety features
and space needed to support our growing operation.
Isowa America’s new facility includes the following:
• State-of-the-art security system with real-time video monitoring
and electronic key card access on all entrances.
• Motion-activated LED lights throughout the facility, which is also very eco-friendly.
• ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliance measures throughout the facility.
• Ergonomically safer work stations with electric height-adjustable desks,
desktop monitor arms, and comfortable ergonomic chairs.
• A spacious warehouse with extra-wide aisles where our staff can
operate safely, especially with the larger corrugator and FFG parts.
• Additional egress routes and emergency services access pre-coordinated
with local fire officials.
There are more that I can add to the list, but maybe you will be able to
see with your own eyes when you have an opportunity to visit our
new facility in the future.

Mr. Fazzolari & Mr. Lourenco from our South America Team
Hello, this is Andre Fazzolari and Paulo Furlan Lourenco from Brazil.
The South America territory was incorporated into ISOWA America
16 years ago. Since then, ISOWA America has been able to more
closely support existing customers with service and parts and also
expand the continent with new machine sales. Our team
understands that it is necessary to be local to succeed in South America,
and this means local support and fast shipped parts.
The ISOWA America people are now writing a new chapter in our history
to be able to keep our machines always running and acquiring new fans
to keep in the industry vanguard.
The new office will increase and smartly improve our parts stock to
ship parts even faster, and we can offer more complete demo trips
visiting machines running and ending the visit at our office for
questions and further presentations. We will also be able to provide
different training and support levels to managers, supervisors, and
operators remotely and at our new location.

Mr. Erbe & Mr. Sander from our Sales Team
For the second time in the past 10 years, Isowa America has
moved to another, larger facility – that’s great news for Isowa
and our current and future customers! We’ve been very fortunate
in these 10 years that our new machine sales, service, and parts
activity levels have increased year after year, necessitating this
latest move completed in March. Our growth and position in
the corrugated market demanded this move, and we’re now enjoying
a newly renovated facility three times the size of our last location!
We’re now in a great location west of downtown Phoenix and only
15 minutes from Phoenix International Airport. The new building
is close to good accommodations and a variety of good restaurants,
as well as some fun activities and the good golf for which Phoenix is known.
Most importantly, we have a huge space to accommodate further
increases in parts inventory; there is room now for comfortable
and professional workspaces for current and future team members,
and a dedicated Customer Support Center where our Service and
Parts personnel are able to collaborate in the same work area.
And finally, we now have a large and suitable location where we can
host full company meetings, executive and sales meetings, and full-
fledged training sessions for larger customer groups. We very much
look forward to seeing our customers and friends in Phoenix and
showing off the new Isowa America!

Mr. Meline & Mr. Imura from our Service Team
The service team is excited about the new office as the training
opportunities and possibilities are greater here now than we have
ever had before. In recent history we have improved our training
on site at the customer’s location, both in the classroom and on the machine.
We have always had a need for the ability to train a group here in the states
rather than have them go all the way to Japan, even though the people
that went to Japan enjoyed it very much. The new training room
and work area are the biggest features. The warehouse bay that has
been set aside to house a machine for us to use as a training and
work tool for Isowa personnel and customers is awesome.
We moved during the Covid19 Pandemic so we have not fully utilized
the new facilities yet. We look forward to using and improving
the new office as we can and in the end improving our ability to
teach or train our customers either in person or remotely.
Technology keeps improving, and these new facilities will help us
to keep up and provide better support now and into the future.

Ms. Serafin from our Administration Team
With advancements in technology and the growing number of threats
to IT security, the importance of protecting company networks and
data has become a critical part to a thriving business.
As we were planning the move to our new facility, we wanted to take
advantage and make some improvements to our network infrastructure,
including hardware, software, and device upgrades. We upgraded to
a more robust security gateway with a Two-Factor Authentication,
increased our wireless network capabilities with access points
throughout the facility, installed a cloud-based telephone system,
and increased our uninterruptible power supply (UPS) capacity.
We equipped every employee with laptops to allow remote working,
which fits nicely with the SAAS (cloud-based) ERP system we implemented
a few years ago. The final stage of our “move in” upgrades was
the installation of dedicated fiber optic internet service to improve
our remote connection capabilities, which will be especially helpful
to our engineers as they assist with customer troubleshooting.
Additional improvements to our network are expected over the next
two years to be implemented in phases.

Ms. Nunez & Ms. Benesch from our Administration team
Our new workstations are an L shaped desk, measuring six feet
on each side, with a radiused (rounded) inside corner instead of
a 90-degree corner. The rounded inside corner is much more comfortable
and enables the full use of the workspace area. The workstation
features an electronic height adjustable side with a 3-legged base
that gives us the option of having a stand-up desk. This option
allows us to use the correct ergonomic posture to reduce the strain
of repetitive motions and helps to increase blood circulation.
As a person with shoulder/neck problems, I personally like that I can
either sit or stand and train my shoulders to be in a relaxed position.
Not only are the workstations long enough to accommodate our paperwork,
they also include a small file cabinet to store paperwork and supplies
needed to accomplish our tasks. The desks are equipped with
dual articulating computer monitor arms so we can be more efficient
in our work, while also maintaining proper ergonomic posture at all times.
On top of the ergonomic benefits, the new workstations are beautiful!
The workspace is a speckled white and grey to accent the rest of
our décor, and we added tack boards against the wall of a lovely blue
to represent ISOWA’s signature color.

After “the move” was completed, we asked some of our team members
how they felt about the effort. Here are some of the responses from
Mr. Saucedo in our Parts Department, Ms. Nunez from our Administration
Department, Mr. Glow our Project Engineer, and Mr. Fukumoto our Electrical Engineer.

a. What do you remember the most about planning and moving to the new office?
Mr. S: Working together with our team and being able to
coordinate on what we needed for the new facility.
Ms. N: The thing I remember the most about planning and
moving to the new office was when we were having to choose colors,
flooring and furniture. I was worried that it would not match and that
the rest of the team would not like it.
Mr. G: I wasn’t part of the planning process as I was away on machine
installations. However, I remember the physical labor involved
in the actual move. Turns out parts can be heavy…
Mr. F: The move was a good opportunity for me to judge whether
old documents and tools needed to be thrown away or packed up.

b. What is your favorite thing about the new facility?
Mr. S: My favorite thing would be the warehouse we have.
We are able to organize our parts better and relabel everything
to be more presentable for everyone.
Ms. N: My new favorite thing about the new facility is our workstations.
However, I also enjoy all the space we have now. Every room is
bigger than what we had before.
Mr. G: I love the room to grow in the new building. The warehouse
is way larger, and the open office concept will lead to more communication
as well.
Mr. F: My favorite is there is a kitchen room for eating lunch,
and an electrical drawing room was extended. In the old office,
we ate lunch in the conference room.

c. Why was the move important to you or ISOWA America?
Mr. S: It reflects a sign of growth and expansion for our
company, and the new warehouse will allow us to more easily
complete our day to day work.
Ms. N: The move was important to our business because it will
allow us room for expansion and growth and the new workstations
will allow me to complete my work more comfortably.
Mr. G: I think it shows a forward-thinking mindset with an eye on growth,
and the open office concept will lead to more communication as well.
Mr. F: The Parts room in the old office had a shortage of space
for parts. The new office has extended space, and we can
stock more parts for emergency troubles. We can also use the training
room to help operators.

I am not sure these words can paint the full picture and feeling of
excitement the team has for our collective future. The new building
is both practical and symbolic at the same time. The steps that we continue
to take are intended to improve the NOW as well as motivate and
prepare ourselves for the FUTURE.

We appreciate both the new as well as the long-lasting relationships
we have with our trusted customers. We are confident that our progress
continues to improve our relationships and abilities, and this
new facility is another step in the 100-year story of ISOWA.
————————————————————————————
Customer’s Words That Made Us Delighted
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
————————————————————————————

Hope everyone reading this is doing well during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At ISOWA, some of the installations and repair works have been put on hold.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2020/08/customers-words-that-made-us-delighted.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol.136: ISOWA America Relocation 1/2

08/01/202007/30/2020ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2020/08 Vol. 136
———————————————–

─┬──────────────────────────────────
1├ ISOWA America Relocation　1/2
2├ Remote Installation?!
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴──────────────────────────────────
Hi everyone,
I’m Tomonori Matsumura from the Overseas Service Department.
When it comes to Japanese summer events, fireworks displays
spring to my mind.　There are nationally-famous fireworks events,
and even regional cities have big displays.
In recent years, fireworks can be seen more and more at Christmas,
New Years, and other times of the year, but summer will always be
synonymous with fireworks in Japan for me.

However, due to COVID-19, a decision was quickly made to
cancel the fireworks displays around the country this year.
Since most of such events are held on riverbanks and other open areas,
and a lot of people gather to watch the firework shows,
it’s hard to control people’s movement.
Of the 3Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings),
it’s particularly difficult to limit crowded places and close-contact environments.
Many people use trains and buses to reach the location of the fireworks,
and those are also closed spaces.
The likely reason for the cancellations is because all of the 3Cs
can be found at fireworks displays.

Another big summer event is the Japanese High School Baseball Championship.
The top high school teams from each prefecture play baseball games
at the historic Hanshin Koshien Stadium for the title of best in Japan.
This year, because of COVID-19, not even qualifying games could be held,
and regional champion representatives from each prefecture could not
be determined, so the tournament had to be canceled.

High schools in Japan is a three-year program (age 16-18).
For the third-year student-athletes, this tournament is often
the final tournament of their high school life. It’s a shame
to think that those student-athletes could not show this culmination
of three years of hard work.
Some players at the tournament get noticed by pro league team scouts
and become professional athletes after they graduate from high school.
The cancellation of the event means the students have also lost
this opportunity to showcase their skills.
It’s heartbreaking to think of the frustration those students must be
feeling now.

We can only hope that a vaccine is developed and deployed so
that COVID-19 can be completely eradicated.
I hope I can enjoy summer fireworks and the High School Baseball Championship
next year.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 135 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
——————————————————————-
ISOWA America Relocation　1/2
——————————————————————-
Hello, this is Ron Miller from ISOWA America.

We wanted to take a moment and share some exciting news about
the future of ISOWA. As many of you know, ISOWA started selling
printing machines in the United States in the 1960’s and has had
a physical presence in the states since the mid 1980’s.
In 2001 that physical presence was further solidified
with the creation of ISOWA America. Now we find ourselves in 2020
and are excited to share the news that we have purchased and completed
our move to a new and larger facility in Phoenix, Arizona.

IA new office

Actually, this is the second time in the past 10 years that Isowa America
has moved to another, larger facility – that’s great news for Isowa
and our current and future customers! We’ve been very fortunate
in these 10 years that our new machine sales, service,
and parts activity levels have increased year after year, necessitating
this latest move completed in March. Our growth and position
in the corrugated market necessitated this move, and we’re now
enjoying a newly renovated facility three times the size of our last location!

We’re now in a great location west of downtown Phoenix and
only 15 minutes from Phoenix International Airport.
The new building is close to good accommodations and a variety of
good restaurants, as well as some fun activities and the good golf for
which Phoenix is known.

The decision to purchase and move to this new location was
a bit of a journey which really gained traction about 2 years ago
when we stopped and had a serious in-depth discussion about what
we really needed to do to improve our service levels in our market.
The answer was clear: we had to improve our lead time on parts.

The internal discussions from that point were difficult at times.
We had to look past the daily personal efforts of the team members
and look at the reality of the situation. The data proved we had a problem.
It was not a people problem. It was a focus problem.
That awakening led us to analyze everything related to our parts delivery effort,
and we began implementing several internal process improvements.

We also evaluated in great detail (and with many sleepless nights)
the pros and cons of setting up another location in which we could
manufacture parts locally in the US and/or serve as a second parts
and service support depot. It is difficult to convey all the variables
and contingencies we considered in this brief letter.
Although we were making incremental process improvements,
we were not seeing the significant improvement in delivery lead times
that we wanted to achieve. We needed more stock and more space.

After a lot of debate, we decided that one appropriately sized location
that could truly serve as our home base of operations was more beneficial
overall than multiple fragmented sites. Once the decision was made,
it was clear it was the absolute next best step for ISOWA to take in
support of our North and South American markets.
Then, it was off to the races for locating and planning a new location,
and I must say I have a great deal of respect for our customers
who set up new operations. It is a lot of time and effort.
In the end, we feel that not only did we address the need for increased
warehouse capacity, we also looked ahead and made sure we allotted
for future growth in staffing as well as provided for much needed
training facilities.
The new training facilities we have planned are a source of much
anticipate excitement which I hope we can share more news
about in the coming months. They will also be key to the advancement
of ISOWA’s commitment to the North & South American markets
and the future development of our team members. The two go hand in hand,
and it is my hope and expectation that this move will be a catalyst
for many great things to come in the future.

As most great efforts are a result of a team effort and carry with it
the shared dreams of the future, so too is this effort.
Therefore, I’d like to share what some of our team members had to say
about the move and the future from their perspective in the next volume.

————————————————————————–
Remote Installation?!
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
————————————————————————–
Hope everyone reading this is doing well during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At ISOWA, some of the installations and repair works have been put on hold.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2020/07/remote-installation.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *