ISOWA NEWS LETTER

Vol.122:Part Two of Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era

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

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

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├　Part Two of Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era
2├　Seasonal Tradition at ISOWA
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────
Hello, people from all over the world. This is Taka
of the Export Department, who is wishing for world peace every day.

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

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

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.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
———————————————–

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├　Part One of Looking Back at ISOWA during the Heisei Era
2├　Falcon Takes Off Half The World Away
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────
Greetings from Phoenix Arizona; this is Ann Marie from ISOWA America.

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

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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
———————————————–
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
—————————————————————
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
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vol.118:Looking back at the Open House2

02/01/201901/24/2019ISOWALeave a comment

——————————————
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/02 Vol. 118
——————————————
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├　Looking back at the Open House2
2├　New Year’s Resolutions
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────
This is T. Takeshima, aka Mr. T of ISOWA.
The start of a new year has quickly passed by,
and now it’s February. It has been cold recently,
but how are all of you doing?

For a long time, people have said that February and August
are the months on which business is slow in Japan.
The reason is that sales drop due to the tightening of
expenditures during February in response to events which
require large expenditures from December to January
(Christmas, New Year’s, year-end parties, and New Year’s parties).
Another reason has to do with the season, and that the desire
of people to make purchases decreases as they avoid going out
because February is short and cold.

An important event for me in February, no matter what,
is the NFL Super Bowl. Also, there is the global festival of
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro hosted in Brazil, where I have been
multiple times on business to perform machine installation and
after-care services. In Brazil, I was able to encounter many cheerful
and kind people, and had many extremely wonderful
experiences and memories.

So far, I have never visited Brazil during February.
I was looking forward to being able to see and experience
Carnival because the installation of our company’s new and
powerful Falcon will take place at the same time this year.
However, unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in
the installation this time. Therefore, if there is at least something
that I can do to support the installation from behind the scenes,
I would like to be actively involved.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 118 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.

——————————————————-
Looking back at the Open House 2
——————————————————-
In the last issue, we introduced the ISOWA Open House Digest
(CF60 + KOHLER Water Deck and IBIS high-speed Edge Opener)
and various booths.
In this issue, we bring to you the questionnaire results from
those who visited the Open House and the enthusiastic impressions
of the project members!
I would be delighted if I am able to bring as much of the enthusiasm
present at the Open House as possible to all of you who were unable
to attend due to conflicting schedules.
Please have a read through it when you have time.

┏━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
┃Ⅲ┃ Questionnaire results
┗━┻━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

◎ With regards to the CF60 Single Facer
– Did you feel that it would contribute to improvements in
the productivity of your company?
Absolutely　　　 21.6%
Somewhat　　　 72.4%
Not at all　　　　6.0%
◎ With regards to the WD01 KOHLER Water Deck
– Did you feel that the WD01 would contribute to the productivity of
your company?
Absolutely　　　　 20.9%
Somewhat　　　　 76.9%
Not at all　　　　 2.2%
◎ With regards to the IBIS
– Did you feel that the IBIS you saw today would contribute to
the productivity of your company?
Absolutely　　　　 33.6%
Somewhat　　　　 61.2%
Not at all　　　　　 5.2%
– Please evaluate the joint accuracy of the boxes of paper run demonstrations performed today.
Very good　　　　45.1%
Good　　　　　　 51.2%
Normal　　　　　 3.7%
Poor　　　　　　　 0%

Introduction to comments from customers

◎ CF60 Single Facer
– For both the speed and the accuracy, I could feel that it is a
very high-level machine.
– I think that is a machine that is easy to maintain.

◎ WD01 KOHLER Water Deck
– In spite of the fact that water is a major foe of paper,
the idea of it being good for paper is amazing.
– I was surprised at how effective it is, even for the adhesive
strength of thick paper.
– I could see an even water film over the surface of the paper.
It is better than a shower.
– I was extremely interested, and I admired it as a device that
we could use for dealing with sheet warp in the future.

◎ Fixed Folder Gluer IBIS FFG with “Good Luck Accelerated”
improved Edge Opener
– The concept of the Edge Opener is really interesting, and I was impressed.
– The precise crease lines are amazing, and I was surprised at the joint accuracy.
– Please try to make it even more faster.

◎ About the Open House in general
– The idea of the Open House being centered around younger members,
the way it is conducted, and the like are extremely amazing.
– It is very clear that the younger staff members are able to conduct
themselves confidently and vigorously.
– I have participated in every Open House, and they have all been fun
because the event production is different every time.
-I felt ISOWA’s desire to make good products

We were able to receive such words of gratitude from our customers.
With these complimentary words, we understand that our customers
expect that “ISOWA can still do more!” In order to meet these expectations,
we will aim to further improve customer satisfaction with our philosophy
of “ISOWA keeps you going -always on the go!”

┏━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
┃Ⅳ┃Impressions of project members
┗━┻━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

This section introduces the impressions of the project members
who were responsible for the project management of this Open House.

◎ N.H (Project Leader), Customer Support/Service Department, West Japan Group

“First of all, I am extremely glad that we were able to finish
the Open House without any problems.
It was made up of all those who visited us and all of you
who helped to put it on. The project members and myself went through
a lot of trial and error regarding how we should convey, in a manner
worthy of ISOWA, the concept of “Human-Friendly and KIKAI-Friendly”
to those in attendance.

I feel that all who were present were able to experience something
that is the essence of ISOWA. I will utilize what I experienced at this
Open House and work to continue conveying what is the essence of ISOWA.
Thank you very much.”

◎ M.K (Master of Ceremonies), Customer Support/Service Department

“It was an extremely great honor for me to be entrusted with
the major role as Master of Ceremonies of this Open House.
I felt that I was given a wonderful opportunity that will allow me to grow.

If I am given such an opportunity again sometime in the future,
I would like to be able to show all of you an improved version of myself.
Also, thank you very much to all of you who came to ISOWA and
to all ISOWA People who gave your support!”

◎ S.T, In Charge of Corrugators, Engineering Department

“For me, the Open House was a good opportunity for engineers,
like myself, to directly hear what many customers have to say.
This year as well, I was able to receive hints for future development
directly from customers themselves, from the numerous
questionnaires, etc. I will utilize these to advance more
‘Human-Friendly and KIKAI-Friendly’ development.”

◎ Y.H, In Charge of Finishing Equipment, Engineering Department

“I was involved in this Open House as the person in charge
of the IBIS ‘Edge Opener Acceleration’. I am extremely grateful
to all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to come
to the Open House. Through this Open House, were you able to
feel the ‘i Machine & Technical Strength of ISOWA’ which continues
to evolve? I will continue doing my best to bring better products to
everyone, so I would be glad if we could continue working together.”
These past few years, we have hosted an Open House every year
as an event for us to express our feelings of gratitude to
those customers with which we have long relationships and
to meet future customers that we previously did not have
any relationships with.
As mentioned at the beginning, there were many visitors to
the 2018 Open House, with 164 people from 87 companies.
It was an extremely valuable Open House because we
received feedback from many customers while introducing
to them “the current ISOWA” through new technologies, initiatives,
and the like. We will sincerely listen to what our customers have to say,
and continue to pursue value for them.

To all of you who were unable to attend this Open House due to
conflicting schedules, we are sincerely hoping that you will attend next time.
Thank you.

—————————————————————
New Year’s Resolutions
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
The New Year has begun.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-years-resolutions.html

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

Vol.117:Looking back at the Open House

01/01/201912/27/2018ISOWALeave a comment

——————————————
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2019/01 Vol. 117
——————————————
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├　Looking back at the Open House
2├　Open House 2018
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────

Hello, everyone. This is Takano from the Export Department.

Recently, it has become clear to me how much my physical fitness
has declined, and I have been experiencing numerous problems.
Therefore, I have made up my mind to start doing strength training.
On my way home from work, I found a gym that is inexpensive and
has the kinds of machines that I need, so I joined immediately.

I hadn’t exercised for about five years, so I started training about
30 to 50 minutes, once per week. I unexpectedly and suddenly
encountered someone from the office, and both of us were surprised!
When I asked him how often he exercises and he told me that
he exercises three times a week, for up to two and a half hours at a time,
I was even more surprised!!

I have made a new resolution to work hard without succumbing to defeat,
while dreaming of my stomach becoming smaller and my body becoming
lighter a year from now.
If I have another chance this time next year, I will give all of you an update.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 117 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.

———————————————–
Looking back at the Open House
———————————————–

Hello, everyone. Thank you for always being helpful.
This is Fujikawa of the Customer Support/Service Department,
East Japan Group.

We hosted the Open House for two days, from November 28th to 29th.

The Open House was an event which brought together the
collective efforts of ISOWA.
Thanks to all of you, 164 people from 87 companies attended
over the two days, and the Open House ended as a great success.

This issue looks back and discusses what the Open House was like.

I would be delighted if I am able to bring as much of the enthusiasm
present at the Open House as possible to all of you who were
unable to attend due to conflicting schedules.
Please read through it in your spare time.

┏━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
┃Ⅰ┃ Open House digest
┗━┻━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

This Open House introduced to everyone the two ways
in which we have further advanced the concept of
“Human-Friendly and KIKAI*-Friendly”.

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”.

Based on that concept, we presented our newly developed machines
to all the visitors.

“So-lution”　CF60 + KOHLER Water Deck
Sheet warp in corrugators is so difficult to solve that it is referred to as
“a permanent problem” in the industry, and it is the one many corrugated
companies have.
We are aware of the mechanism what causes warp.
Even though we are aware of the mechanism what causes the warp,
there has not been fundamental solution. Additionally, the recent increase
of small-lot multi-product production, especially in Japan, has a major
impact on such sheet warp issue, which results Kikai-loss.
(Loss of opportunities)Specific examples are Sheet stack inversion work
for warp correction, sheet return and inspection work, reduction of
corrugator speed, print failure during the finishing process, and jam up.

What we introduced as the solution to sheet warp is
the “反リューション” (“So-lution”).
The name is a compound of “反り” (“Sori”, Japanese for “warp”)
and “ソリューション” (“solution”).
With the CF60 and KOHLER Water Deck, we introduced an unconventional
and fundamental solution to warp.

The KOHLER Water Deck is a new mechanism capable of freely
controlling warp by changing the application amount of the moisture.
Visitors to the Open House, by watching videos, could see changes
in the amount of warp by changing the application amount of the
moisture and that it is possible to manufacture flat sheets free from warp
by controlling the amount of moisture applied, even when the production
speed has been drastically changed.

Also, we used videos, data, and paper run demonstrations to show to
visitors that it is not only useful against warp, but also is effective for
increasing the adhesive strength of processing thick paper because
the application of water improves the absorption of the glue into the paper.
Moreover, the CF60 has a strong emphasis on “visualization”, and one
of its strengths is that it allows you to see:
– temperature regularities, sufficient heat, and excessive heat
by using thermography
– edge misalignment, and glue dam position by using the glue dam camera
– vapor pressure drops, drain discharge status, and vapor usage
by using the steam system
This makes it possible to increase speed easily, and it clarifies the state
of production, even when using thick paper
“Bad Luck Out, Good Luck Accelerated!”　IBIS
Presently, there are people who think of IBIS if someone mentions
ISOWA and people who think of the “Edge Opener” if someone mentions IBIS,
and the word “Edge Opener” has become a byword for “IBIS”.

The first time we introduced IBIS, it was at the Open House two years ago.
As an example of “Bad Luck Out, Good Luck In!”, we presented
a new technology which allows for production with high joint accuracy
of extremely difficult boxes, the “Edge Opener” fishtailing correction device,
which received a major reaction from those in attendance.
Thanks to you, the IBIS, which the first model was delivered in 2008,
has reached 100 orders and has enjoyed an extremely great reputation.
Meanwhile, the “Edge Opener” has a limited production speed of
160 sheets per minute, which has become a cause of opportunity
loss depending on complexity of box shapes.
We introduced an improved version of the “Edge Opener” as
an example of “Bad Luck Out, Good Luck Accelerated!”

Users of IBIS often told us that, “The ’Edge Opener’ is capable of
such fine joint accuracy, so we want you to make it faster!” However,
with the conventional control, keeping the paper run at 200 sheets/minute
resulted in a misalignment of around 100 mm or more in the timing of
the opening of the edge plate against the target timing.
So there was the problem of control not being as possible as we expected.
Therefore, we have reexamined the electrical machinery and
control program from scratch, and increased the speed by improving it
so that it is within a range of around 10 mm.

The way it is written above might make you think that it is a simple matter,
but controlling the timing with an extremely precise accuracy of
0.001 seconds, or 1/1000th of a second, was necessary in order to
increase the speed.

The box used during the paper run demonstration was the following product.

Flute : AB
Materials: K210 x S120 x S120 x S120 x K210
Dimensions: Width: 870 mm (Box depth: 678 mm) x Length: 1,123 mm
Speed: 200 sheets/minute (bundles of 10 sheets)

The box shape is extremely difficult, and it is difficult to achieve
joint accuracy in tubular boxes, but we received many compliments
from customers while they inspected the products during the time
after the paper running.
In the future as well, we will advocate for the concept of “Human-Friendly
and KIKAI-Friendly”, and work hard to be as useful as possible in solving
the problems and concerns of our customers.
We would appreciate it if you would continue to provide your warm support
for us at ISOWA.

┏━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
┃Ⅱ┃ Open House digest -booths-
┗━┻━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

At the Open House, we set up booths which explain ISOWA’s improving
corporate culture, technology, services, and machines, in addition to
the booths for the CF60 + KOHLER Water Deck and IBIS, which visitors
were allowed to visit as they pleased.
These booths are briefly introduced below.

◎ Special Jury Award, the Most human touched company award
At the Eighth annual “Japan’s Most valuable Company Awards”,
we won the Special Jury Award.

◎ eco-WA
This is our project of spreading, among our company and to persons
who visit our company, with environmentally-friendly activities such as
reducing energy and waste, planting trees at the company,
collecting waste around the company, and greeting activities.

◎ iEM2 (Corrugator Production Controller)
This is a production controller that has been further improved
by incorporating requests from customers, such as the display
of production information by using mobile devices, traceability functions,
and the addition of parameters which correspond to product quality.

◎ DC3 exhibit
Exhibited a rotary die cutter sold by ISOWA in 1967, and showed
visitors the history of the development of new value.

◎ Introduction to maintenance that can be performed by customers
We set up a booth which introduced maintenance that can be
performed by customers.
There, we introduced inspection methods we would like customers
to perform so that they can retain machine performance and maintain
stable productivity.

Would you like to see the results of the questionnaires we conducted
on the attendees of the Open House, as well as the impressions
and thoughts from the project members?
Please stay tuned to the next issue.

—————————————————————
Open House 2018
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
—————————————————————
We had an annual open house event last week.
170 customers visited　this year.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2018/12/open-house-2018.html

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

Vol.116:Interviews about department assignments of new employees

12/01/201811/30/2018ISOWALeave a comment

———————————————–
ISOWA NEWS LETTER
2018/12 Vol. 116
———————————————–

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├　Interviews about department assignments of new employees
2├　ISOWA’s Historical Heritage
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
─┴───────────────────────────────────────────
Hello, everyone. This is Matsumura from Export Department

I went out on a business trip abroad at the end of October.
After arriving at the airport, I got on a train to head to my final destination.
It was on the train that I realized that I had lost my mobile phone.

Judging from my current situation, I guessed that it was stolen from me
right before I boarded the train from the platform.

Losing my mobile phone which contained important information
was a shock to me, and I ended my business trip among days
that were full of anxiety and reflection.

I felt that I should have been more careful,
and next time I will use a neck strap so I can keep my mobile phone
on me at all times.

To all of you who are reading this, please be careful.

And now, let’s turn to Vol. 116 of the ISOWA NEWS LETTER.
We hope you like this edition.
—————————————————————————————————-
Interviews about department assignments of new employees
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Hello!
This is Kurata, a sale representative of the Customer service
Department.

Half a year has already passed since the start of this new fiscal year.
This year is my second year since joining the company.
At this exact time last year, I accompanied a staff member of
Engineering G and engaged in machinery installation work.
I clearly remember frantically keeping up with the atmosphere
of the work site while experiencing the summer heat inside of the factory.

Assignments to departments for this year have been decided,
and the thoughts and ambitions of 10 new staff members
who have taken their new first steps are introduced in this issue.

[Y. H] < Adjustment and Installation Department >

In my training thus far, my aim has been to understand the job content
and role of each department, but I am now working hard to
understand things, by asking questions until I understand and
by continuously asking myself “why”, so that I will be able
to explain what I have learned from senior staff to our customers.
Therefore, in the future, I would like to become able to explain things
in a way that will be easy for junior staff to understand.

At first, I would like to ask many questions as I discover things
that I do not know.
Confident that I am the one who knows the most about this machinery,
I will work hard toward my goal of being one of the ISOWA people
who can answer the questions of our customers.

[H. MZ] < Adjustment and Installation Department >

Every day, I have been frantically keeping up with the senior staff.
Approaching training with the attitude that I would be content with
being assigned to any department, I had intended to understand
the work of each department. However, after being involved in actual
work, I felt that I should not underestimate work training.

I recognize that there are so many things to memorize, and I am
working hard to learn what I do not know. Going forward,
I would like to increase the work that is entrusted to me as much
as possible, and become able to confidently tackle my work.

In order for me to achieve this goal, I feel that I need to grasp
my own level and solve problems one at a time.
A theme for me going forward will be to continue to always have
the aspiration to improve my work.

[A. T] < Export Department>

I have learned how to proceed with my work from the senior
staff and made a manual, and by actually performing the tasks
from watching and following the examples of the senior staff,
it would be the time to finish my work in an instant.

During training, I was keenly aware of my lack of basic knowledge
of machinery. For example, when I translated notes for a change
in specifications to English, I first had to have each piece of
machinery terminology that I didn’t understand carefully explained
to me. Even when I attended a meeting about the specifications
with the Engineering Department, I couldn’t even read the specifications.
So, thanks to the assistance of the senior members and my colleagues,
I started to learn the terminology bit by bit.

First, I would like to steadily memorize each item one by one,
to become able to tackle my work confidently.

[M. K] < Design Engineering Department >

Currently, my duties are observing die cutters, understanding
structures, and helping with the development of test machines.
My knowledge of machinery and electronics are both insufficient,
thus I am not even used to how I should proceed with my work,
so my goal is to first grow accustomed to my current environment
and job and to then become able to think and act on my own.

Together with my superior and the senior members, I have set the
lofty goal of becoming proficient in both mechanicals and electricals,
and I would like to work hard toward achieving that goal.
Design Engineering Department does not only work in machine design,
but also sometimes goes out to perform installation work or repairs.
In the future, I too will go visit customers.
I would like to become able to understand what customers want
and what they are troubled by, and to then respond.

[K. A] <Assembly S>

My duty every day is to put forward my best efforts at the instruction
of Mr. I at the Assembly Dojo.
I have experienced a lot this month by using various tools,
going to the Komaki Factory, and the like.
Going forward, I would like to absorb many techniques from my
superior and the senior staff, increase my capabilities
as much as possible, and become able to work at customer sites.

First, I will work to get my slinging license.

[H. MN] <Design S>

The three things I am currently focused on achieving are:
learning about the machinery of ISOWA, increasing my skills
in design and drafting, and memorizing the fundamentals of
the corrugated paper industry.

Specifically, my training for becoming able to imagine a machine
by looking at an engineering drawing is to color-code each part
of the assembly diagram and look at the actual machine while
checking the color-coded drawing, and to practice CAD operations,
I do design, construction, and the like of plates and brackets for
mounting measuring equipment.

I have decided that the first three years for me will be the period
during which I lay my foundation.
At this point, I would like to create a solid foundation and continue
to grow daily by taking on many challenges, experiencing failures,
and reflecting back on what I have done, in order to be able to
develop good machines.

[S. TK] <Purchasing Department>

Currently, my duties are mainly focused on shipment processing
and billing. There are various types of parts which comprise
the machines of ISOWA, and the delivery dates and inventory
status of each of them are different. In order for those who work
at sites to be able to smoothly proceed with their work,
I determine how to set delivery dates and the kind of information
that should be picked up and passed along. However, there are
still some areas where I lack knowledge, such as regarding the parts
and the flow of duties of workers at the sites, so I still cannot perform
my work by myself.
My goal is for the company to feel at ease with entrusting this work
to me.
Therefore, even while I am learning the fundamentals, I would like
to search for the areas that I am proficient in and in the future,
I would like to have a job where I am one of the most important
staff to lead it.

[T. M] <Machining Department>

I am currently engaging in machining using lathes and milling
machines as my main work.
I would like to continue working hard to learn difficult machining
methods that I did not learn while in training and machining methods
that will allow me to make products according to dimensional tolerance,
and become able to perform my work quicker, even if just by
a single second, and more efficiently.

Also, I now only work with lathes and milling machines, but
I would like to become one of the almighty ISOWA people
who is permitted to work until I am at the level where I could
pass the National Trade Skills Test of another type of machine.
Now, I fail often, and I am still a beginner, but I am working hard
to quickly become a full-fledged member of the company and
provide high-quality products.

[S. TD] <Machining Department>

I have become more aware of my responsibility for each of my actions.
During transport of materials, incorrectly positioning material
in the engineering drawing
may lead to machining that is different from what is shown
in the engineering drawing during the next process,
so I have been tackling my work with a particular sense of responsibility.

Thus far, I have given top priority to safety when practicing
machine operations, but now, in addition to naturally handling
machinery safely and correctly, I have started performing my
work while also keeping efficiency on my mind.

First, I would like to carefully tackle each item one by one so that
I can accurately perform the work that is given to me.

[K. I] <Assembly Department>

Currently, I am learning various things from Mr. I,
who is a trainer of the Assembly Dojo.

My current goal is not to forget the things that Mr. I has taught
me and to make them my strength. After assignment, Mr. I
immediately told me that “For now, during the year, we will
practice various things, with the methods of tools and electric tools
at the dojo, but you will probably forget them.” Therefore, I must
always keep those things in mind.

I was taught many things, but I felt that it was difficult for me to
think about them and then master them through experience.
However, in order to quickly become a full-fledged member of
the company, I would like to continue absorbing as many things as possible.
How about that?

During training at ISOWA, trainees first visit each department to
learn about the connections between them and the work performed
at them, and then the trainees are assigned to a department in July.
Currently, the new employees who have undergone training are
tackling their work daily while specifically thinking about how to
reflect their own ideas into their work.
Such growth is the result of ISOWA people conducting training
while respecting the ideas of these new employees.
By all means, look forward to these new ISOWA people who will
fulfill new roles in the foundation cultivated by ISOWA thus far.

Thank you.
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ISOWA’s Historical Heritage
From President Isowa’s Blog, ISOWA DIARY
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The machine being installed inside ISOWA’s main shop.
It’s one of our greatest machines of all time from ‘60s.

▼To read more about it, visit the below website
(President Isowa’s blog, ISOWA DIARY)
http://h-isowa.blogspot.com/2018/11/isowas-historical-heritage.html

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