ISOWA NEWS LETTER

Vol.125: Life of an ISOWA Senior Sales Employee

09/01/201908/29/2019ISOWALeave a comment

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ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/09 Vol. 125
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─┬───────────────────────────────────────
1├Life of an ISOWA Senior Sales Employee
2├What a machine sitting in the dark tells you
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────────────────────────
Hello All, this is Kaiser Hagopian, and I am with Isowa America
in Phoenix, Arizona.

September is upon us in the desert, and that means that we are near
the end of our annual monsoon season in Arizona, which brings high humidity,
lightning, blowing dust, and flash floods.
The season officially begins on June 15 and lasts through September,
and I think August being the most active month.

The word monsoon originates from the Arabic word Mausim, which
means “season” or “wind shift,” and it can create short intense periods
of rain. In speaking with customers, most believe our summers are
a “dry” heat, and this is true for May and June, but from July – September
the relative humidity can exceed 40% making our weather a little uncomfortable.

You won’t see me on one of our beautiful golf courses during this time
with temperatures regularly above 110 F (43 C)!

The rains that the monsoon create help recharge the groundwater and
in approximately half the state — get half of their annual rainfall
during monsoon season. The most rain falls in the mountains.
These rains can create fast-moving water that can wipe out trees
and trails, damage vegetation, and move even large boulders.
It’s important to be especially cautious during this season because
flash floods can have tragic consequences.
Almost weekly you see on the news people being rescued by emergency
services, and sometimes they are being rescued by a helicopter!

The monsoon also brings beautiful lightning shows at night.
It is approximated that there are 500,000 lightning strikes during a season.
These can be dangerous too with dry vegetation causing brush or forest fires.
One of my favorite memories growing up here was sitting on our family
porch with my parents and enjoying the nightly lighting show.

So the next time you think of visiting the Phoenix area, please stop
by for a visit. We have air conditioning!

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 125 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
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Life of an ISOWA Senior Sales Employee
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Hello, everyone.
This is Fujikawa of Customer Support/Service Department who will turn 64
this September.

I joined ISOWA to work in sales in December of 1991, at the age of 36,
and I have been working at the Tokyo Domestic Sales Office since then.
I joined the company as a mid-career hire without any technical knowledge.
Therefore, after joining the company, I spent some time learning the fundamentals
of sales, and I also went on-site and helped with service support,
and learned about the models, functions, and structures of machines.

I am still working at ISOWA today, even though I reached my retirement
age four years ago.
Of course, I still visit our customers and engage in sales activities,
and my attitude of wanting to help them has not changed, even after
my age of retirement.

However, I think that my work style has changed.
In this issue, called “Life of a Senior Sales Employee,”
I will tell you about my work style.

Sales & Service Visit

I engage in Sales & Service Visit to visit customers whom salespersons
haven’t been able to visit in a while for sales calls.

I make the best use of my experience and knowledge from the past 27 years
of my life at ISOWA to:
・ ask customers about the status of their machines (productivity, quality, safety)
・ provide proposals for repairs and modifications to machines
When customers have machines which are not well maintained and
not in perfect/proper condition, I provide advice for simple machine
repair methods to customers whose operators are having difficulties,
and I explain those problems to managers and receive requests for part orders
and repairs. I started this because I had the passion to help our customers
by improving the productivity and quality of our machines. However,
Thanks to the skills that I acquired back then, I think I am able to be of
some assistance to our customers.
In a single year, I visited approximately 40 companies.
I will tell you about some examples of my actual experiences below.

・Dealing with machine problems

During visits, I noticed that some machines operate while having
some sort of problem. There were many customers who had problems
concerning sheet transfer, printing, and creasing.
For such problems, I indicated the respective causes, of feed roll wear,
anilox roll wear or clogging, and creaser urethane wear.
There are customers who improved their productivity and quality, so I felt that
I was of some assistance to them.

・Improvement of maintainability

There are quite a few machines that are currently operating with the
electric components that are discontinued or no longer serviced by the manufacturers.
The services of ISOWA also provide updated information for upgrading
electrical components.

During such activities, I assisted the customers that I visited during my door-to-door
service and acted as a point of contact from making initial proposals, and took
orders for replacements of electrical components.
Malfunction of discontinued parts may pose a high risk of long-term suspension
of machine operation. Therefore, I would regularly make suggestions to customers
to maintain safe and satisfactory machines for a long period of time.

Some of the customers that I actually visited had the followings to say:
・ Fujikawa, we’re glad to see you working energetically after your retirement age.
・ We are thankful that our machines are inspected with the expertise of the manufacturer.
・ We are thankful that Fujikawa explains the problems of our workplace to management in a detailed manner.
・ Maintenance of the machines has made our work easier.
・ Please come again.
Such words of immense appreciation help motivate me in my work.

Sales work support
・ Duties at ISOWA

In recent years, I have retired from the front line, not leaving the office
as much as I did in the past, and now I spend most of my time in the office.
Therefore, when I am at the office, I do the paperwork for other salespeople who
are out of the office on sales calls.
I primarily do work on a computer, and I can perform my duties without
any problems in particular. I fondly remember when the younger staff members,
who were like children to me, used to stare at me as I asked the same computer
questions over and over. (haha)
I entrust work to others and accept work that is entrusted to me.
I work in a flexible way at ISOWA.

Also, I can now use Keynote, an iPad application for making presentations,
to make simple presentations, and I use them during meetings.
Eventually, I would like to give my own presentations for machines at customer sites,
but I am not sure when that would be.

・ OJT for young salespeople

I think that transmitting my 27 years of experience thus far to new employees
is my work, to put it in a cool way, my mission. I would be delighted
if I could accompany young salespersons and they could learn something
from my footsteps, and meet as many future milestones as possible.

However, I am troubled about the generational gap on a daily basis,
because they’re even younger than my children. I do not mean to say that
these young people are naive, but there are situations in which I become keenly
aware of how the times have changed.

The future

I fondly remember, when I joined ISOWA back in 1991, that I was absorbed
in my work, and that I wanted to catch up with and surpass the senior employees
as quickly as possible. However, ISOWA has changed a lot over this
last quarter of a century.

One example is the improvement of our corporate culture, which breaks
down the walls between departments to enable easy communication between
all members of the company, and aims for us to be the company with the best
corporate culture in the world.

Initially, I had my doubts about whether or not this change would work.
However, as the improvement in corporate culture progresses, I feel that
the company atmosphere has become brighter and that the growth of
younger employees has accelerated dramatically.
Going forward, I would like to do my best to contribute to creating an even
brighter corporate culture, where employees don’t feel that there are
any problems caused by the senior staff, in order to help our customers,
so I look forward to continuing to work with all of you.
————————————————————————
What a machine sitting in the dark tells you
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
————————————————————————
“Bon” holiday season is over in Japan.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/08/what-machine-sitting-in-dark-tells-you.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.124:The State of a Neighbor That We, Surprisingly, Don’t Know Very Well

08/01/201907/29/2019ISOWALeave a comment

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ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/08 Vol. 124
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─┬────────────────────────────────────────────────
1├The State of a Neighbor That We, Surprisingly, Don’t Know Very Well
2├How About a Meeting Room Like This?
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴────────────────────────────────────────────────
How are all of you doing in this heat?
As I ask that, it is the middle of winter in the Southern Hemisphere,
and it is, of course, hot for those of you living in countries
that have perpetual summers. So I guess this is a greeting that
is specifically for those of you living in the countries which
have four distinct seasons.

Nagoya, where ISOWA is located, is actually very hot in the summer.
The temperature is not that big of a deal in comparison to regions
which are extremely hot. However, in addition to the heat, the humidity,
the reflection of the heat off of the asphalt, exhaust from building
and car air conditioners, and the fact that there is sometimes no wind
makes it feel much like we are burning in hell. It is so bad
that we cannot breathe.

August is the hottest month in Japan. I often hear that July
is the hottest month in many countries. But due to pressure patterns
during this season, the majority of regions in Japan have their
yearly highest temperatures every August.

On August 3 of last year, Nagoya had its highest recorded
temperature ever, of 40.3℃. If you think that it is not
such a big deal, you should try coming to Nagoya and experiencing
such an atmosphere for yourself. As soon as you get off at
Chubu Centrair International Airport or step on the platform
at the Shinkansen Nagoya Station, your body will be surrounded
by dense and moist heated air.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 124 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.

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The State of a Neighbor That We, Surprisingly, Don’t Know Very Well
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This is a continuation of our theme about places outside Japan
from our last issue. In this issue, we will talk about our neighbor,
South Korea.

Some people say that Korea is a country that, while being geographically
close to us, is different from us in many aspects. It is thought
that not much is known about the state of corrugated paper in South Korea.

Therefore, in this issue of “ISOWA NEWS LETTER,” we interviewed O and L
of our Korean distributor about the characteristics and future issues
of the corrugated paper industry in South Korea.
Q1. To start, please tell us about the fundamental statistics, about
the production volume of corrugated paper and the like in South Korea.

The yearly production total of last year yielded results of
approximately 6 billion square meters, which I think is a
little less than half of that in Japan.
The population of South Korea is also about half that of Japan,
so the ratio is about the same, proportionally.

However, the production volume in 2006 was about 4.2 billion
square meters, so I think our growth since then has been larger
than that in Japan.
Approximately 70% of that 6 billion square meters is from integrated
companies that also manufacture paper.
This is a major change in the last decade or so. In 2006,
the share between these integrated companies and independent
companies was 50-50.
In the future as well, the share of integrated companies will
probably increase.
Q2. How many corrugators are there in South Korea?

There were 143 machines as of February of this year. There were 156 in 2014,
but that number decreased to 138 in 2017. The number has increased
a little bit recently.

Of the 143 machines, 25 of them are 2.5m width, and these make up 17.5%
of all machines.
I think that also differs from the breakdown of machines in Japan.

The users of corrugators with wide widths are mostly major companies,
and there has been progress in both making these machines faster and
automated at the same time.
Q3. Please tell us about the characteristics of corrugated paper production
in South Korea.

I think there are a lot more Double-wall here than in Japan.
Double-wall accounted for 46% of all sheets in 2017.

This is probably due to the effects of the quality of paper
in South Korea. There is a tendency here for manufacturers to make
Double-wall using thin paper instead of using heavy paper in order to
make the boxes stronger.

The fruit of such a tendency is BB flute Double-wall.
BB flute is not only rarely seen in Japan, but also rare in other
countries as well.

Conventionally, it was commonplace for Double-wall to be AB flute.
However, since the release of singlefacers, which allow for cartridge
change of corrugating rolls, to the market, BB flute has become popular.

BB flute is used when customers do not need the same strength as
AB flute but want a strength greater than that of Single-wall,
because they can cut costs below that of AB flute.
Q4. Are there any other characteristics?

Another major characteristic is order-scheduling based on
the paper width in corrugators.

This is not the normal scheduling as scheduling based on flutes.
For example, typically production is performed, where the paper width
is gradually narrowed from the maximum width to the minimum paper width
for AB flute, then from the maximum paper width to the minimum paper width
for A flute, and later from the maximum paper width to the minimum
paper width for B flute. Instead, AB, A, and B flute are produced at
the maximum paper width, then the width of the paper is narrowed,
and all types are produced at that width.

The reason customers in South Korea use the order-scheduling based on
the paper width is because they want to extend the lot length
as much as possible and reduce the number of times of paper changes.
Therefore, the number of times of flute changes in these plants is
extremely high. In particular, in the plants where BB flute,
that I mentioned earlier, and E flute are produced, the number of
times of cartridge changes for corrugating rolls has increased.

Also, the CF60 of ISOWA, which allows for quick, simple,
and safe cartridge change, is now attracting a lot of attention.
Two CF60s have been installed in South Korea, and they have gotten
lots of attention.
Q5. Please tell us about the corrugated box trends of South Korea.

The needs for small cases have increased. It is thought that this trend
is also present in Japan and other countries. It is due to the emergence
of a new distribution method for home shopping, Internet shopping,
and the like.
Also, due to the aging of workers in rural communities in South Korea,
the packaging of agricultural products has become smaller and has
changed a lot. The market has been expanding 10% yearly in the
agricultural product packaging field.
Q6. Please tell us about the future issues of the corrugated paper
industry in South Korea.

Currently, a majority of factories in South Korea operate 24 hours a day.
But there is a possibility that environmental problems might make it
no longer possible to operate during the nighttime in the future.

Also, we have a duty to reduce working hours, like in Japan, and wage
increases have become a major problem because of this.
In order to survive in such circumstances, we need to assure the same
production volume as before, even after reducing operation hours.
And, to that end, it is thought that the trend of replacing machines
with wide-width, high-speed machines will advance more in the future.

In addition, it is thought that further automation will be required
in the future in order to reduce burdens on operators.

This concludes the report from O and L.
They discussed the South Korean market, which has evolved in its own
unique way with problems and solutions different from those inside Japan.
However, we feel that there is potential for a future increase in places where “
i machines” of ISOWA, which are “Human-Friendly and KIKAI*-Friendly,” will be used,
just like in Japan.

*About our company’s development concept of
“Human-Friendly and KIKAI-Friendly” is……

“Human-Friendly”
This means making it possible for those employed in manufacturing,
such as operators, to return home to their beloved families
safely and promptly.

“KIKAI-Friendly”
KIKAI-Friendly has two meanings. The first one is being
“Machine (Kikai)-Friendly” by achieving the maximum effects of
the machines with their original performance rather than simply improving
their specifications; in other words, having less stress on machines.
The second meaning is “reduction of opportunity (Kikai) loss”.
—————————————————————
How About a Meeting Room Like This?
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
We have renovated one of the meeting rooms into a traditional Japanese style one.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/07/how-about-meeting-room-like-this.html

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Vol.123:Report from Participants of Shanghai Exhibition

07/01/201906/28/2019ISOWALeave a comment

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ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/07 Vol. 123
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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├　Report from Participants of Shanghai Exhibition
2├　Workplace Culture at ISOWA
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────
Hello Everyone,
This is Clay Meline, and I am the service manager with Isowa America.
I live in Idaho, which is in the northwest corner of the United States,
where all the seasons apply themselves to everything we do.
The weather really changes this month, and in our region of the world,
it gets warmer and even hot as we approach the summer months.
We have a mountain range in the view from my house and on it is one range
that looks like the back and tail of an ALLIGATOR as the snow builds up.
We know that as the alligator tail starts to melt off and we can’t see
the back legs anymore that we are okay to begin our summer activities.
That’s how it was this year up to the beginning of May.
Now it has melted off, and summertime is upon us.
(Unless of course, you live in the southern hemisphere.
Then you are headed into winter.)
Children are getting out of school and starting their summer activities.
Teachers take their well-deserved breaks, and farmers are in the middle of
planting the remaining crops that will be harvested in the fall months.
June is a big month for family reunions. If I tried to go to all my family reunions,
there would be 6 of them. I usually get to 3 on a regular basis
and really enjoy seeing all the family.
This is a very important time of year for me as I try to stay connected
with as much family as possible.
I hope you can take some time and do the same!

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 123 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.

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Report from Participants of Shanghai Exhibition
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Hello, this is Inui of the West Japan Group.

In this issue of “ISOWA PRESS,” you will hear about the impressions of
ISOWA people who participated in “SINO-CORRUGATED 2019”, hosted
in Shanghai, China from April 8 to 11, 2019.

ISOWA planned a study tour, which included sightseeing in China, and
six ISOWA people participated with six members of three customer companies.

“SINO-CORRUGATED,” in its 22nd year this year, is hosted once every two years.
It is one of the world’s largest exhibition, where companies in fields related to
corrugated paper production can come together.
Each time it is hosted, the exhibition space and the number of exhibiting
manufacturers increase. This year, 2019, the exhibition space was 110,000 square meters,
and 1,100 companies had exhibits. It was a large exhibition visited by about
more than 80,000 people.

Four years ago, in 2015, the exhibition space was about 60,000 square meters,
600 companies had exhibits, and there were about 26,000 visitors, so you could
feel the force of the Chinese market.

A large number of the leading manufacturers at the exhibition were from China and
Taiwan, and there were also some from Japan, Europe, and the United States.

A majority of the exhibits of corrugators were for slitter scorers, splicers, and
singlefacers, and there was a rather large number of exhibits related to printing.
Also, a wide variety of manufacturers had exhibits, including manufacturers of belts,
corrugating rolls, anilox rolls, consumables, and communication-related equipment.

Anyway, here are the impressions of members of the Customer Support/Service Department
who worked as tour attendants, a female employee K, and salespeople T and N.
【Customer Support/Service Department, Service Section K】

I am K of the Service Section and a member of the tour attendant.
Normally, I take phone calls and do other work in the Support Center.
This is a sudden question, but what is your image of Shanghai?
You probably think of it being an international city, its night views, crabs,
acrobatics groups, and Chinese dresses.
In recent years, there have been news about the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort.

It is only two hours from Chubu Centrair International Airport, but I think
there are many who think of China as a country where it is close geographically
but distant politically and culturally. Similarly, when I visited Shanghai for the first time,
I just had a vague knowledge of the area.

In 2012, seven years ago, when I was a university student, I majored in Chinese.
In deciding where I would study abroad during my second year in school, I, as someone
who was born and raised in Aichi Prefecture, just thought that I wanted to live in
a large city. So I picked Shanghai without any hesitation.
However, I still clearly remember arriving there and feeling disappointed because
the area near the school was deserted.
Also, I still can’t forget being extremely scared as the taxi that picked me up
from the airport drove at an unreasonably fast speed, and how I was always anxious
about the hands-off approach of the university staff.

I have a lot of memories from living there during my 10-month study abroad.
I was impressed by the night views of The Bund, <Shanghai’s best sightseeing are>,
and I remember frantically running to catch buses that were stampeded by passengers.

Well, my introduction was long, but through such experiences, I became connected
with the Chinese language and Shanghai, which is why I was picked to
attend this exhibition.
It was very short, just three days, so it was a quick tour packed with
an exhibition trip and local sightseeing.

Even though it is a place that I know something about, the fact that I would
be working abroad and with a large number of people made me feel extremely
nervous from the preparation stage.
In Shanghai, we chartered a bus for transfer, but due to strict traffic regulations,
we often walked. Also, I was surprised by the sudden rain showers.
However, thanks to local drivers and agency personnel, all of us were able to
return to Japan safely.
This was thanks to the efforts of all of those who participated.
Thank you very much.

On this tour, I was impressed with one of the comments we received from our customer.
“The exhibition was, of course, great, but we also had a meaningful time meeting
with people from other companies who came along.”
Over these three days, I was able to have an enjoyable time by accompanying
customers and by attending the exhibition, doing sightseeing, eating
around a round table, and participating in other activities. I think some of
the achievements of this business trip were that we established a space
to have conversations with customers, and that ISOWA was able to create
“a circle of network among customers.”

It was my first business trip abroad, and I was very anxious. But my nervousness
and anxiety were rewarded with the words of gratitude that I received from customers
when I was about to return to Japan, such as “It was fun thanks to you” and
“Your choice of dishes was superb.”

I am thankful that I was given this opportunity, and would like to work even
harder in my daily duties.
【Sales T】

I visited the exhibition 10 years ago, and I felt that there were rather vibrant
exhibits this time as well. This year, the exhibition space nearly doubled,
and it filled me with complicated emotions. I was happy yet sad that I would have
to see everything in such a large exhibition venue in only two days.

My impression of the machinery during my previous visit was that the gears,
belts, and other components were exposed in the machinery of Chinese manufacturers.
I felt that only an extremely small number of Chinese manufacturers had machinery
that people could have thought was made while being inspired by the machinery of
Japan.

However, machinery of many Chinese manufacturers at this exhibition
had stylish frames, comparable with those of Japan, and they were given
the same degree of consideration to safety that Japanese manufacturers give.

On the other hand, I did not see machinery of local manufacturers which had
unique elements, like you would see in the Edge Opener and 2-up function,
which are unique technologies of ISOWA.
That is something that the customers of ISOWA expect from us, and it made
me strongly realize once more that we need to work hard to continue developing
unique products. Also, I was surprised at how low the prices of local manufacturers
were. I do think that the lower the price of machines, the happier the customers
would be. Machinery can be produced cheaply if no consideration is given to
its performance, durability, and maintainability.
However, people often say that you get what you pay for, so such machinery could
ultimately force customers to suspend their production lines.
At ＩＳＯＷＡ, we are devising services which consider broadly both machinery and
maintenance. We offer solutions which increase the satisfaction of our customers.

I was also surprised by the urban development of Shanghai, where the exhibition
was hosted.
The population is officially recorded to be around 20 million, but some say that it is
actually around 30 million, about two to three times that of Tokyo.
The atmosphere of it in the past was of many buildings and condominiums
being under construction. If you stepped into a back street, you would see
rows of tenement houses cramped together. However, the majority of the
construction of these buildings and high-rise condominiums have been completed,
and now it is a place where you could spend one to two hours on a bus and
not encounter any farmlands.

In this manner, this visit has reinvigorated me after returning to Japan. I will use
this new energy to help our customers.
【Sales N】

This trip was full of firsts for me: my first business trip abroad, my first time
in Shanghai, and my first time at a machinery exhibition abroad, and everything
that I saw was new to me.
As mentioned earlier, approximately 1,100 companies participated in this exhibition.
There were a lot of machines set up in the massive venue, paper run demonstrations,
and also a large number of participants! Seeing such vigor made me felt the force
and power of China.

The things I was most impressed by were the approaches to using IT and
digitizing corrugated paper factories.
I saw “an automated forklift” being used, where sheets ejected from the corrugator
stacker are automatically set in the feeder of the flexo folder gluer machine.
After production, the forklift automatically stocks and transports the products
to the shipping area.

Also, the approach to maintaining machinery using VR wasn’t from a Chinese
manufacturer, but I admired it as technology characteristic of the era that we are
now living in. With regards to inkjet printing, I was surprised at a demonstration
in which different design of printing was printed on each corrugated sheet
in continuous production. I think that this is an area that will gradually develop
in the future, but I was surprised at the growth of digitalization and IT in China.
In a different field, due to environmental problems, straws are gradually changing
to paper from plastic since last year. The machinery for producing these paper
straws was exhibited and demonstrated, and I felt that the undertaking of, and
response to the needs of Chinese markets is extremely quick.

At this exhibition, I saw and interacted with various machines, and came to
understand what kinds of machines are used in China.
If possible, I would have liked to hear more about what people in China had to say,
but the language barrier is high, so it was difficult for me to communicate with then them.
Nevertheless, I was well aware of the fact that needs differ by country and market,
and that machinery is produced according to such needs.
As a result, I saw many similar machines, but I thought that there weren’t many
machines that you could say were unique to their manufacturers.

At ＩＳＯＷＡ, we have the development concept of “Human-Friendly and KIKAI-Friendly”.
We will continue progressively advancing our ‘i Machines’, which will continuously
be developed according to this concept, and we will continue working to make
our customers happy.
So, what did you think?

The contents of this exhibition increase every time it is hosted, and the vigorous
Chinese market is very appealing.

Due to differences in cultures and needs, we think that it was a rather rewarding time,
during which we reconfirmed the “worthiness of ISOWA”.

What kind of advancements will be at the next exhibition?
We will like to tell you about that after the next hosting.

Thank you.
—————————————————————
Workplace Culture at ISOWA
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
It was almost 5 years ago when a grad student from Tokyo first visited us.
▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/06/workplace-culture-at-isowa.html
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Vol.122:Part Two of Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era

06/01/201905/27/2019ISOWALeave a comment

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ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/06 Vol. 122
———————————————–

This may be a sudden question, but what kind of a day is the birthday for you?
・ Is it a day on which others celebrate you?
・ Is it a day to cry because you have gotten a year older?
・ Is it a day on which you receive presents?
・ Is it a day on which you can do what you like to your heart’s content
without feeling guilty?
・ Is it a day on which you feel good squandering money?

However you spend them, I think that, without a doubt,
they are special days. For me, they are days on which I express
gratitude to my mother. (Of course, I express my gratitude to her every chance
that I get, but my birthday is when I particularly want to express my gratitude.)

I think there are some who would think, “What? Isn’t that what
Mother’s Day is for?” I completely understand that sentiment.
However, Mother’s Day is a fixed date, but in my case,
my birthday is the day on which I express gratitude to my mother.

While I was in my mother’s womb, her womb was the most important
thing to her in her life. Also, I can only feel gratitude for the fact that
she gave time to bringing me into this world, while feeling me get bigger
in her womb every day, feeling joy, and sometimes dealing with agony
and immense pain.

With this kind of thinking, I actually do this because my birthday,
the day on which I was brought into this world, makes me strongly
feel the need to express my gratitude to my mother.
When the ISOWA News Letter featuring this introduction is published,
I should have expressed my gratitude to my mother and gotten one year older.

Thank you, mother!

P.S.: My family asked me what kind of present I would like,
and my answer was “a stylish cook coat.”

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 122 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.

—————————————————————————————-
Part Two of Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era
—————————————————————————————-
Hello, everyone.
This is Tamura from the Customer Support/Service Department,
continuing from the previous issue.

“Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era” is a two-issue
feature spanning the previous issue and this issue.
The new era, Reiwa, started last month.

In this issue, I would like to look back at the second half of Heisei
while bringing you back the issues of ISOWA PRESS, established
in 2006 (Heisei 18), which is an e-mail newsletter for customers in Japan,
and is the origin of ISOWA NEWS LETTER.

The inaugural issue to be remembered!
(October 6, in Heisei 18 (2006))

“Has your company been raising the price of boxes？

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/isowapress/e/e6f61b44aae891e29b64b1c318edade2‘
（In Japanese）

The inaugural issue came out at a time when there was an increase
in the price of sheet cases. Oddly enough, the industry conditions in Japan
at that time are still the same as they are now.
In this case, many have said that there was an average price
increase of 2.97 yen for boxes while it was 4 yen increase
per square-meter sheet 13 years ago. Last year, it was an increase
of 8 yen for boxes while it was 10 yen increase per square meter sheet.
With a price pass-through of 80%, things are just as they were 13 years ago.
〇 First appearance of Flexo Folder Gluer IBIS!
(Issue 48. November 20, in Heisei 20 (2008))

“A bit different! Public Operation of ISOWA with Open Seminars and Open House”

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/isowapress/e/83f7389297d54c16c1a5e4a49a323c93(In Japanese)

The first unit of the Flexo Folder Gluer “IBIS”, a type of machine
which many customers enjoy using, was installed in 2008, and the number of
total units surpassed 100 last year.
The first appearance of the IBIS was in ISOWA PRESS vol.48.
The members of the development project team were interviewed,
and they shared their secret stories for completing it.

Some of the things mentioned were:

>>I think the further advancement of IBIS will be accomplished
from running at work sites.

>> I would like to improve the IBIS, which is loved by customers,
to the same level as the Falcon, the flagship of our company.

Certainly, the IBIS has actually entered fields and has been
advanced daily with the [Edge Opener], [Variable Lead Edge],
[Batch Separator], and the like, in order to solve the problems
of our customers.

The ideas at the time took a substantial form and brought us
the IBIS today. However, we will not be satisfied with the current
circumstances and will further advance the product to make it an
‘i Machine’ (machine that customers like the most).

It was a rather bombastic name…
(Issue 91. November 24, in Heisei 22 (2010))

“Corrugated Paper Practical Training Seminar”

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/isowapress/e/223608a17fa0cce318c618336acd10ae
(In Japanese)

Corrugated Paper Practical Training Seminar was a rather formal
sounding name, but the Corrugated Paper Seminar is currently
known as the “Danzemi” in Japanese, and a large number of operators
attend it each time in order to improve their skills.

The first seminar was hosted on November 10 and 11, in Heisei 22 (2010).
Now, two types of Danzemi, one for corrugators and one for
flexo folder gluer machines, are hosted every year.

So far, there have been 379 participants at Danzemi.
Also, we have made many improvements to this seminar,
making it easier to understand and more practical, based on opinions
from our customers.
〇 All employees celebrate the 90th anniversary of our company!
(Issue 126. August 8, in Heisei 24 (2012))

[Holding the Everybody Celebrate “Minkyu” Event Celebrating
the 90th　Anniversary of ISOWA]

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/isowapress/e/86f24ff18ca41d33f5f022efac031c55
(In Japanese)

This issue talked about what happened at “Minkyu”, an event which
celebrated the 90th anniversary of our company.
At Minkyu, there were a creative cooking contest by 30 randomly assigned
teams and an off-site exchange of opinions concerning “manufacturing”.

*” Minkyu is shortened from “Minna de 90 (Kyu-ju) shunen,” which means
“Everybody celebrating the 90th Anniversary together.”

Also, there were lectures by Professor Fumikatsu Tokiwa, a special lecturer
and former President of Kao Corporation, and by Professor Ichiro Furukawa
from Hitotsubashi University.
This event provided an opportunity for employees to interact with
other employees who they were not close with and for everyone
at the company to interact with each other at once.

Next, the 100th anniversary will come in 2020.
The project members are currently planning the event.
I would like to tell you about this event at a later date.
The new plant is finally finished!
(Issue 195. April 20, in Heisei 28 (2016))
〇“New Factory Completion Ceremony and Start of Operation”

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/isowapress/e/0a32a9cef05651824f57767944c63edf
(In Japanese)
https://isowaenglish.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/isowa-news-letter-vol-86/
(In English)

At a new plant (although you probably can’t call it a new plant anymore)
which had its completion ceremony on March 18, in Heisei 28 (2016),
a project was started to provide countermeasures against the deterioration
of our previous plant, to expand production slots, and to make
the plant environmentally friendly.

Construction officially began from Heisei 26 (2014), and operation started
without any issues two years later.

Before the installation season, the plant had a number of
flexor folder gluer machines, such as the IBIS and Falcon, ready for
deliveries. In recent years, it is often the main venue of the Open House,
hosted every year, and I think that this plant has been visited by
many readers of this newsletter.

Our goal is to continue developing/making a showroom-like factory,
that people will always say is clean and well organized.

This completes our look at 14 years of ISOWA Press and our look back
at the history of ISOWA.

I think that ISOWA has gone through various changes during the 31 years
of the Heisei era, and it has grown.

We can now look forward in anticipation to the history that ISOWA
will trace during the next era, Reiwa.
Also, we will continue devoting ourselves to being able to provide
even more value to our customers.

—————————————————————
Seasonal Tradition at ISOWA
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
Beginning of May is one of the biggest holiday seasons
in Japan called “Golden Week”.
▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/05/seasonal-tradition-at-isowa.html

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol.121:Part One of Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era

05/01/201904/24/2019ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/05 Vol. 121
———————————————–

I have lived in Arizona for 19 years and I have to admit, I am glad
I made the move! What attracted me to the Valley of the Sun was the
beautiful weather, vast scenery and variety of outdoor activities.
Phoenix has more sunny days than any other metropolitan city in the U.S.

Phoenix is the 6th largest city in the United States; with
a population of 1.4 million people. In addition, more than 16 million
people visit Phoenix each year. During the winter, many “snowbirds”
find their way to Arizona to enjoy the warmer temperatures which
resemble their fall season. The freeways, restaurants and shopping
plazas can become extremely crowded during those 3-4 months.
I have to admit, it is easier to look forward to our summers knowing
traffic will be reduced drastically and the 45-minute wait in the restaurants
will be over for 6 + months!

The Greater Phoenix area has more than 200 golf courses, dozens
of mountains to hike and plenty of dessert to cover. Phoenix has
a franchise in all 4 professional major sports leagues: Arizona Coyotes (NHL),
Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), Phoenix Suns (NBA) and
the Arizona Cardinals (NFL). The Phoenix’s Waste Management Open
draws in more spectators than any other event on the PGA tour –
nearly 500,000 spectators yearly. Every February, 15 major league
baseball teams make the Phoenix area their home for Cactus League
Spring Training.
Thank you for taking a journey with me on what Arizona has to offer.
If you’re looking for a great vacation spot, I hope you consider Arizona!

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 121 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
——————————————————————————————
Part One of Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era
——————————————————————————————
Hello, everyone.
This is Tamura of the East Japan Group.

I know this is sudden, but, in addition to the western calendar as a method
for representing years, Japan also has eras, which change with the accession
of a new Japanese Emperor. The accession of the new Emperor on May 1, 2019
will mark the change from the current era of “Heisei (1989 to 2019)” to
“Reiwa (from May 2019)”.

Since the start of 2019, I have heard many people say “this will be the last X of Heisei”.
For the generation of people who only have experiences in the Heisei era,
such as myself, I am a little sad knowing that Heisei is almost over.

The Emperor expressed his gratitude to the people and to the Empress
in his speech. It was deeply emotional and impressive.
Also, there surely are many people who could rejoice in relief at the fact
that Heisei is ending as an era during which Japan was not involved in any wars.

In this issue and the next issue of ISOWA NEWS LETTER, I would like to bring you
the “Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era” series.
I still have a superficial knowledge of the history of ISOWA, so, in order to
reflect back on its history during Heisei, I heard from many of my superiors.

One of the events which had caught my interest was the changing of
the company name from Isowa Industry Co., Ltd. （磯輪鉄工所） to
ISOWA CORPORATION. Therefore, in this first part, I would like to tell you all about that.

1. From Isowa Industry Co., Ltd. （磯輪鉄工所） to ISOWA CORPORATION

The name of the company changed from Isowa Industry Co., Ltd. （磯輪鉄工所）
to ISOWA CORPORATION on June 1 in Heisei 2 (1990), which was nearly 29 years ago.

It seems that the company name was changed as part of our CI (Corporate Identification)
to align with our corporate philosophy that started in the 63rd year of
the Showa （before Heisei） era (1988).
At that time, five points were established for the investigation of a new name.
1)The name reflects the current operations of our business and does not
restrict the business fields over the next five years defined in the medium-term
business plan and the development of business beyond that point.
２）The name aligns with the modern sensibilities and can express the image
of a high-tech, cutting-edge, and international company.
３） The name is instinctively received when seen or heard, without any problems.
４） The name conjures up a rather progressive image without sullying the history
of the company up to that point.
５） The name improves the awareness of employees and invigorates
the activities at the company.

On January of Heisei 2 (1990), we asked all employees for their ideas for
the new company name, based on the above five points.
There were more than 230 entries.
As a result of the employees voting on a name, the most popular company
name was “株式会社イソワ” (with “ISOWA” written in katakana)”.
I wonder if any of you thought that “ISOWA” should be written in alphabetic
characters. Ultimately, “ISOWA CORPORATION” was picked as the new
company name, with “ISOWA” being written in alphabetic characters
because writing it in katakana would create a lack of balance in the characters
and in the depth of the character strokes, and because of the company’s goal
to continue expanding abroad and become an international company.

However, at that point in time, using alphabetic characters in company names
was uncommon in Japan and was also not permitted by law, so that was an obstacle.

Thereafter, we looked at a company name, [ＩＮＡＸ] , a very prominent brand
of the sanitary ware industry in Japan, which had an official name using
alphabetic characters.
As a result of various surveys, we had no choice but to use
[ISOWA] (イソワwritten in katakana) as our registered name, but we determined
that we could use a company name written in alphabetic characters by indicating
“Company name is written as [ＩＳＯＷＡ] (in alphabetic characters)” in the
registration document, and it became our current name.

Thereafter, the law started to recognize company names containing alphabetic
characters, so you could say that ISOWA was a pioneer in that regards.

By the way, the name that was submitted by the President of our company,
Hideyuki-san(*), was [ＩＳＯＷＡ　DYNAMIC].
It seems that he often imagined answering telephone calls from customers
with “Hello. ISOWA Dynamic.”

In order to learn more about that point in time, I spoke with I-san,
who was involved in the change of the company name at the Planning Office.

(*) In order to create a company with a better corporate culture,
from this fiscal year, we have abolished referring employees
using their managerial positions.
“Hideyuki-san” refers to Mr. Hideyuki Isowa, the president of the company.
For details, please refer to the April 6 article on the ISOWA blog:
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/h_isowa/e/1dd295edbb8b22948d41158afda77bc7
(In Japanese only)

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
At that point in time, I was in my fourth year at the company. I felt that
I was not involved in CI work, but that I had helped the project members,
with the current President, Hideyuki-san, at the center.

The thing that I was most aware of was putting forth efforts for activities
for newly constructing the ISOWA brand toward the future while inheriting our past.

To this end, different methods for representing the company, primarily
the method for displaying the company name, were made known inside
and outside the company.
In order to build a new brand, we mainly introduced various methods of
representing the company such as company’s logo to inside and outside the company.

There was a case where someone incorrectly used “ISOWA” with
“CORPORATION” (written in Japanese) affixed to the logo.
I clearly remember struggling to explain and have employees understand
that it is just a logo, so it must not be used that way (haha).

CI activities extend to machine design and the like, and we developed
some cutting-edge, revolutionary, and well-designed machinery by
employing FRP in the decorative covering for the first time in the industry.
This feature has been inherited in the Falcon.

I think that the “ISOWA brand”, which inherited the brand image during
the era of Isowa Industry Co., Ltd.（磯輪鉄工所時代）and which is now
operating smoothly 29 years after such events, has permeated outside of the company.

This concludes the story from an employee who was aware of what happened
during that period.

Birth of the corporate color

Also, at the same time as the name change, “ISOWA blue” was adopted
as the corporate color.

It seems that this color has the meaning of “striving to be a refined and superior
corporate citizen capable of contributing to local societies, and which is full of
an enterprising spirit toward the entire world.”

This color is still often used to express the image of the ISOWA brand
in various locations, such as logos and the like in catalogs and advertisements
and on service cars and machinery.

There probably are many customers who think of this blue whenever
they think of ISOWA.The corporate philosophy when this color was adopted is as follows:

1)Create good products for our customers.
2) Work to improve the livelihoods of our employees.
3) Collaborate to develop the company.

Thereafter, reforms in the corporate culture started in Heisei 13 (2001) and
our current corporate philosophy of　“Creating a company with the best
corporate culture in the world that makes us and our families happy”
was touted in Heisei 18 (2006).
By looking back at our history in the manner, I learned that our corporate color
came before our current corporate philosophy.

3. ISOWA going forward
ISOWA is currently touting the development concept of Human-Friendly and KIKAI-Friendly.

Now, with a different philosophy and development concept than roughly
30 years ago, we are thinking of adopting a new “symbol color” of ISOWA
in addition to our current corporate color (while also considering changing it).
This philosophy and concept of ISOWA should be expressed in this symbol color.
Approaching our 100-year anniversary in 2020, and for the 100 years thereafter,
which color would be appropriate for “understanding our past and connecting to the future”?
I am very excited to find out which color will be.

How about looking back at the history of your company?
You are sure to discover something new by unraveling the events of the past.

In the next issue, I would like to give a special report of ISOWA Heisei News,
while looking back at a back issue of ISOWA PRESS, which was established in 2006.
Please stay tuned!
—————————————————————
Falcon Takes Off Half The World Away
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
Another “Falcon”, ISOWA’s Flexo Folder Gluer, started running in Brazil.
(Literally half the world away from where it was manufactured!)

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/04/falcon-takes-off-half-world-away.html

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol.120:About differences in work styles

04/01/201903/28/2019ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/04 Vol. 120
———————————————–
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├　About differences in work styles
2├　From Half A Day To 5 Minutes
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴─────────────────────────────
Hello, everyone. This is Kato from the Export Department.

Three months have already come and gone in 2019,
and it is now April. It is now the time of the year where, even in Japan,
we can feel the season changing from winter to spring as it gradually
becomes warmer day by day.

Also, on the subject of March, it is now again the season
for the opening of Formula-1(F-1), the apex of motorsports.

This year as well, there will be 21 Grand Prix events hosted in countries
all over the world, starting with the Australian Grand Prix on March 15
and ending with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The major focus of attention
in F-1 during 2019, when all is said and done, is surely the presence
of the Red Bull Racing team, which is now working together with HONDA,
a Japanese power unit (PU) supplier.

I have the feeling that this is the year where something good
is bound to happen as HONDA, who is approaching their fifth year
since resuming activities as a PU supplier in 2015,
enters these F-1 events with the famous Red Bull Racing team.

In this year as well, just before the 70th year since 1950, the year
in which the history of F-1 began, a lot of notable matches and drama
are bound to unfold, both on and off the courses. This year,
as such a turning point approaches, we would like to extend our support
to Red Bull and Honda, so that they will have a successful year.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 120 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.

——————————————————————–
About differences in work styles
——————————————————————–
Hello. This is Kitada, reporting from ISOWA AMERICA (IA).

I came to the United States in March of 2016, and became a member
of IA in June of the same year. Time has flown, and three years have passed
since I came here. I never thought that I, someone employed at a service office,
would ever live a life where I would get transferred abroad.
However, I have only a few more months left in my life in the United States.

During these three years, I have been responsible for solving
the problems that our customers face, and I have visited many customers
in North and South American and repaired machinery while working together
with the engineering teams at customer sites.

In a previous issue (Issue 210 on May 24, 2017), I had talked about
the differences between Japan and the United States with regards
to production types and the ways in which repair work is tackled,
but, in this issue, I would like to talk about the differences in work styles.

In Japan, repairs and inspections are often conducted on weekends,
on Saturdays and Sundays. Also, the calculated work hours at the time
of submitting the estimate to customers often exceeds eight hours.
However, the machinery needs to be operable without any problems
by Monday morning, so I had thought that it was just common sense
for us to work until late at night.

Also, one time, on a weekday morning, I told my superior that I had
some personal matters to attend to and was wondering if I could
go home at the regular time. However, he said, “No, no…. What are we
going to do if there is a problem? If you have plans after the regular work time,
you should just take the day off of work!”
In the event of a sudden problem, I would naturally rush to the customer’s site
and deal with it. Customers would want me to restore their machinery
as soon as possible, and Japanese service engineers as well have the intention
to satisfy the expectations of customers. I perform my work while shouldering
the mission which I must fulfill, so despite being exhausted,
I worked hard to restore equipment even when it was time for me to go to bed.
I remember a day when I worked consecutively for 32 hours as the result of
working on restoring the machinery, and was there for the onsite check from
8:00 in the morning.

In the United States, on the other hand, I have visited many customers
as an IA engineer. When doing so, we would first make advance arrangements
for the number of required engineers and the date. In many cases,
repair work is scheduled from Friday morning.

For reservations in which two days are needed, the work is performed
on Friday and Saturday. Sundays are kept open as a reserved date for
being able to deal with any sudden problems. For the happiness of employees
and their families, consideration is given so that, if the repair work finishes
smoothly without any problems, they can have a relaxing Sunday.

The work start times vary, and are related to customer shifts.
For example, if work starts at 6:00 in the morning, at around 3:00 in the afternoon,
the customer’s engineers say, “Today’s work is finished, so we will see you tomorrow.”

We work all eight hours, and then continue what we could not finish
on the following day. This is fundamentally the same for work performed
even in the event of sudden troubles. The majority of customers have
day-time and night-time maintenance teams, so I work together with
the customer’s day-time maintenance team to solve the problem,
when the time comes, the night-time maintenance team comes in to take
our place and continues working to solve the problem.
I also tell the person in charge of engineers at the customer side
what I want those working the night shift to do and the work procedures
therefore, and then I return to my hotel.

Because of my perception of my work as a service engineer in Japan
as it needing to be done until completion, I was extremely shocked
at the fact that the approach to doing service work is different between
our countries, in spite of us working in the same industry, for the same company,
and performing the same job.

In the United States, people work in an environment in which the private
lives of each worker are respected, even with regards to working on weekdays,
and workers give each other sufficient and mutual consideration
when they have private business to attend to.

Now, the Japanese government is taking the initiative to realize
The Action Plan for the Realization of Work Style Reform, labeled as work style reforms,
by discussing nine areas such as “the revision of long working hours” and “provision of
environments where it is easy for workers to have flexible work styles”.

Also, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has created legislation
to disseminate the intervals which need to elapse between work periods.
This is a system in which workers have a break of at least 11 hours from
the completion of work until the start of their next shift, and
it has already been introduced in EU countries.

As I have lived outside of Japan and have worked in various countries,
I have wondered, from the perspective of those outside Japan,
if Japan’s proud sentiment with regards to service and hospitality
decreases worker productivity in Japan and forces a burden upon workers.

For example, if you buy something off the Internet in Japan,
you expect it to be delivered on the same day or the next day.
We also expect that the packaging materials will be prepared
on the day of the order and that the order will be delivered on the same day.
In spite of this, there is barely any costs for consumers.
It is usually inexpensive or free.
If you order something off the Internet in the United States,
you expect to wait between 10 to 14 days for delivery.
If you need your order to be delivered quickly, you have the option
of having it delivered on a Saturday, but it will cost you a lot more.

I have wondered if we Japanese come to understand that adequate costs
are necessary for high-quality service and then experience the inconveniences
that go along with not paying those costs, it will allow for flexibility
in the work styles of Japanese workers and, it will also lead to improvements
in the wages of works if consumers pay the adequate costs for high-quality services.

There is probably no one correct method, but I have indeed been made
to think that the work styles of each country are different.
Based on my experiences outside Japan, I would like to continue thinking about
the way I should work in order to achieve happiness for myself and for my family.

—————————————————————
From Half A Day To 5 Minutes
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
It was a pre-shipment inspection day.
We had a customer over who purchased our Flexo Folder Gluer “Falcon”.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/03/from-half-day-to-5-minutes.html

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol.119: New employees on site during installation

03/01/201902/26/2019ISOWALeave a comment

——————————————
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/03 Vol. 119
——————————————
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├　New employees on site during installation
2├　What Color Is Our Belief?
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────
Hello Everyone, this is Ron from ISOWA America.
In the US, we are making it through the final weeks of winter
and looking forward to spring.

Many people start their year with New Year resolutions,
but for me, the renewed life that spring brings is a perfect time
to be re-motivated for another year of challenges.
This is also the time when people come out of their winter hibernation
(our excuse for not doing things when its cold) and engage in
the unofficial ritual of spring cleaning chores.

Spring cleaning chores can be as simple as reorganizing
a cluttered closet that has been growing for years,
or it can be more intense like a whole house washing inside and out.
As years pass, sometimes these efforts turn in to fond memories
as I think back to helping family members with especially challenging chores.

The idea of spring cleaning can be associated with more than
cleaning around our homes. It is also a perfect time to look at
how we go about our daily work and consider ways to clean up
old business and take measures to improve ourselves
and our efforts for the future.
However you prepare for your spring, either at home or at work,
I wish you much success with your chores!

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 119 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
———————————————–
New employees on site during installation
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Hello, this is Inui of Customer Support/Service Department.

At the end of last year/beginning of this year, a total of 150 personnel
visited customer factories, where they participated in 15 Installations/modifications.
All of our staff are sincerely thankful that they were able to complete
their work with the understanding and cooperation of our customers.

In this issue of “ISOWA NEWS LETTER”, four new employees share
with you their impressions from being on site during installation work.

[New employee: US]

Goals:

– Learn the work contents and approaches to the work, and then start working
– Be able to think and work by myself without being an onlooker
and without waiting for instructions

Impressions:
This was my first experience with installation work, so I did not really
have an image of it in my head. However, the tension was different than it is
at the company, and the mood of the senior employees was also completely different.
I felt that being able to safely perform the work within a limited time period
in order to start production on schedule is of the utmost importance.

I was impressed by the fact that the senior employees
understand the arrangements and what each of them are supposed to do,
and work in a brisk manner, immediately starting the next work task
after finishing one. I also felt that the teamwork was outstanding.
Also, I felt that, in order for myself to work in a team, I would need to
be able to do the work that I have already experienced once.

I consciously decided to make a change because I won’t learn anything
if I don’t do the practice to prepare for the actual work while I am at our factory.
I was on site during all stages, from installation to production,
but it does not merely end with installing the machinery.
I strongly felt that I want to be a service technician who can be a good
adviser to customers and provide proposals to improve their productivity.

[New employee: ON]

Goals:
– Work while adhering to the policy of “Safety First”
– Learn and understand the workflow, from removal of old machinery
to machinery adjustment

Impressions:
The installation work was done with an affiliate company,
so I was aware of the fact that I would need to communicate so that
my face and name would be remembered and work without forgetting
to be considerate of those around me.
There were some instances where the processes did not proceed smoothly.
For example, problems occurred during foundation work. However,
because the work period and start date of production of the customer are fixed,
we cannot delay the work. I definitely felt that work sites are living things.
Therefore, what I felt is important is to bring together many ideas and
employ them with good judgment.
I strongly felt that, in working at ＩＳＯＷＡ and with our many affiliate companies,
some tasks will come at the same time in the same place if I don’t communicate well.
That would decrease productivity, so I must work while being
considerate and watchful of my surroundings.

I would like to utilize this experience in my future service work.

[New employee: HY]

Goals:
– Become able to explain operations and maintenance
– Grasp the sensation of sheet quality at every parameter
– Create a list summarizing procedures for troubleshootings
that occurred at work sites

Impressions:
This was a case where workers alternated with each other at the work site,
so I took the place of one of the senior staff members and I was on site during
the night shift. I was able to answer questions about operations for running
the equipment, cartridge changing, and the locations that need to be cleaned daily.
However, there were many cases where I had difficulty explaining why small
problems occurred and how to deal with them.
I felt that the accumulation of little things, such as these kinds of explanations,
is what fosters trust in the machinery of ISOWA, ISOWA people,
and the ISOWA Company itself.
I strongly felt that I want to be an engineer who is capable of conveying
the performance and merits of machinery in a more correct and accurate manner.

[New employee: MH]

Goals:
– Clarify the processes and work contents beforehand in order to prevent delays
– Create documents which illustrate the processes, etc., based on this installation work
(Because I am waiting to perform very similar work in March)

Impressions:
I had an impression of the tight schedule and tough work content,
however, from watching the work of the senior employees,
I could grasp not only the electrical aspects, but also the mechanical aspects,
of the processes.
The thing that I learned about during the installation was
the Corrugator Production Controller.
There are many cases where changes are made to the calculation
formulas of the Corrugator Production Controller due to modifications
and replacements, and each time I worked hard to understand
why that formula was preferable. I haven’t had any opportunities
to work with the Corrugator Production Controller until that time,
but I was able to learn how to operate it.

While being on site for production, I understood that, with the cold
weather making me weaker, it was extremely difficult to find the parts
that are inconsistent with the old machinery and to handle such situations.
During the latter half, I was solely entrusted with the electrical work at
the work site, and I felt that it was worthwhile.
In the future, I would like to be able to handle work in a similar situation
in a smoother manner.

With regards to the modification work that is waiting for me in March,
I was able to learn about the processes and work content.
In addition to making documentation, I would like to sufficiently utilize
that experience in the future.

What do you think?
At ISOWA, the entire company comes together and works to train new employees.

Before performing installation work, new employees have discussions
with supervisors and establish their own goals. All the employees follow up on that.
Even during this installation work, employees received messages of
encouragement from other departments and also occasionally received
strict guidance

After establishing goals and tackling the installation work,
the new challenges that employees want to tackle after returning
to the company from the work sites are clear.
ISOWA would like all of our employees to continue to come
together and do their best to be able to provide even more value to
our customers.

Thank you very much.
—————————————————————
What Color Is Our Belief?
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
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Since our recruitment website is getting a little old,
we have been discussing its renewal.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/02/what-color-is-our-belief.html
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