I. Management features

1. Increased sales even during the COVID-19 crisis

The company is designing and manufacturing molds for plastic parts, injection molding of plastic parts, and assembling plastic parts, with 90% of sales coming from parts manufacturing. In 1982, President Takase, who had worked at a mold manufacturer, started his own business (incorporated in 1984), and started manufacturing molds with his younger brother, and a part-time female employee.

However, orders for molds from molding companies dwindled, and the company entered plastic molding.

Currently, the company handles a wide range of materials, from general-purpose plastics to various engineering plastics (high-performance plastics that overcome problems such as strength and heat resistance, which are the weak points of general-purpose plastics), and the market is also diversifying into the housing equipment field (especially water heaters, showers, and plumbing parts such as valves for water pipes), the medical equipment/semiconductor manufacturing equipment field, the automotive field, and the information communication field. The housing equipment field, which accounts for 45% of sales, is a stable management base, and the medical equipment and semiconductor manufacturing equipment fields, which have high technical requirements, are a management development base, aiming to increase the sales ratio to 40%.

    Annual sales: 1.24 billion yen in 2018 (July term), 1.35 billion yen in 2019, 1.47 billion yen in 2020, 1.65 billion yen in 2021, 1.85 billion yen in 2022, 2023 Year (plan) 1,950 million yen. Sales continue to soar even during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an average annual sales growth rate of 11.9% from 2020 to 2022.This is because optical fiber-related, semiconductor device- related, and water heater-related sales increased. Regarding optical fiber and semiconductor equipment, the favorable market conditions such as the expansion of 5G networks, the spread of video distribution services, the expansion of online communication due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increase in exports of energy-efficient Japanese-made water heaters to the United States provided a tailwind. But that alone doesn't explain the company's high sales growth during the COVID-19 crisis. Sales increased due to the expansion of the market and the reason why the company received orders.

2. Integrate mold manufacturing and injection molding processes to replace machining

Production of both molds and injection molding has moved to East Asia, but the company's competitiveness in Japan is due to the differentiated system of integrating the mold manufacturing and injection molding processes. Adjustment costs are significantly reduced compared to separate mold making and injection molding. For example, if processing a perfectly round product, but it is distorted when measured with a three-dimensional measuring machine, the information is shared immediately and accurately, and correction of the mold is started. If mold manufacturing and molding are performed by different companies, the speed and accuracy of information transmission will drop. Repeated revisions can lead to financial troubles. Also, if mold making and injection molding are separate, it is difficult to synchronize the two processes, causing a "stagnation" in the flow of production up to the molded product. If both processes are carried out by the same company, they can be easily synchronized, shortening lead times and reducing costs.

The shift from cutting to molding is an indication of the quality and productivity advantages of this integrated system. Fluoro-resin valve parts with chemical resistance used in the semiconductor and medical fields require high-precision roundness, so they are manufactured by cutting powder-hardened materials. The company did this by injection molding integrated with mold making, with equal precision. This would reduce the cost to 1/10.

Nonetheless, the process integration of mold making and injection molding is a troublesome task that requires a high degree of "reporting and communication (Ho-Ren-So)" between the two processes, and many companies withdraw from the process because they cannot maintain it. The company's sales expansion is due not only to the favorable market environment, but also to its competitiveness based on the uniqueness of its technology as described above.

3. Philosophy of "Monozukuri (manufacturing)"

The driving force behind the pursuit of technology is one of the company's management principles, the philosophy of supporting society with technology. In a human society where people live while helping each other, manufacturing technology exists for people's lives. For example, the technology to manufacture valve parts for artificial dialyzers manufactured by the company exists to support human life. However, a small mistake in processing causes water leakage. Therefore, according to President Takase, they do not ignore profits, but they are extremely obsessed about making "proper products." The word "obsessed" conveys the idea that not being able to make "proper things" is against morals. Even if a worker has a good personality, a worker who cannot make "proper things" is not a good person in society. He can live morally only with his technical ability.

But being a good person is never forced. Workers who understand the purpose of valve parts satisfy morality by making "proper things" and they may also be satisfied with themselves and find their work rewarding. This manufacturing philosophy underpins the company's technology.

II. Features of labor management

1. Thinking about way of life

The company's management philosophy consists of the following two items.

① We aim to be a company that supports a prosperous and bright society with technology and the spirit of coexistence and co-prosperity,

② We aim to be a company that supports manufacturing culture, cooperating with each other and utilizing 100% of individual abilities.

In 1999, President Takase joined the SME Doyukai (Small Business Association). The mold company he used to work for went out of business, and he had to take over three employees who had nowhere to go. The number of employees doubled at once, and when he was wondering what to do next, an acquaintance introduced him to the Doyukai. It has been three years since he joined the Doyukai, and when he didn't know much about the Doyukai's philosophy, he had to write a management philosophy at a regional meeting. At that time, he was able to write the above two items without hesitation. However, in fact, many members have a hard time writing. Some say, "I run a business to make a living, what else?" Some other say "Even if I had a management philosophy in my mind, it wouldn't come out when I tried to write it down, so I imitated one of other companies." Mr. Takase had the idea in mind before he joined the company. As a child, he helped his father, who ran a forging factory. When he helps, the production increases, and his father praises him. His father was good at motivating him, and he became interested in making things. He also learned from his father how to live. His father wasn't the type to follow someone who made him money, but he was a man who worked faithfully even if he didn't make money. His mother was also a loyal person who wanted customers to eat to their heart's content.

In addition to the influence of his parents, Mr. Takase was also influenced by his teacher at school who was a member of the Japan Teachers' Union.　Ever since he was a child, he had been thinking about how he should live his life. Before founding the company, he trained at other companies and experienced various difficulties, which led to the formation of the values he wanted to cherish in manufacturing and in life. This is the reason why he was able to quickly write down his management philosophy.

①is as mentioned above as the philosophy of manufacturing, technology supports people's lives, and for that reason, we are particular about making "proper things."

②is based on his view of human beings, that people are beings who live by making use of each other's irreplaceable abilities.

It also contains his desire for employees to develop their abilities through collaboration and enjoy job satisfaction. Mr. Takase's life as a company owner is a journey of how to realize this view of manufacturing and human beings in the company. But it wasn't always smooth sailing for him.

2. Conflict with employees

When the company had more than ten employees, he built a new factory in place of the rental factory (2004). He was in a rush to make a profit to pay off his debts. In addition, customers have become more demanding regarding delivery times and quality. As the president, he has no choice but to deal with it. If he doesn't, he won't be able to pay the employees, but the employees won't be positive, saying, "We can't comply."

After hiring new graduates for the first time (2005, 6 people), a new line consisting of three of them was created, and the president taught them directly. As the student who came for internship had a very frank personality, so he decided to hire new graduates and train them himself. However, relations with new recruits were not necessarily smooth. Mr. Takase points out the human limitation of mutual understanding stemming from the limit of the integration of subjectivity (one's own point of view)

and objectivity (other people's point of view). This conflict seems to have faded away. According to Mr. Takase, communication between the president and employees has improved over the past few years, and he is now able to convey his thoughts. Employees have grown and become trustworthy. In the past, the president used to yell at his employees, but now he leaves it up to the employees without interfering with management. At the beginning of the company's website, "Introducing Employees," it is written that "each and every employee contributes their opinions and participates in the management of the company." The company changed to a system in which all employees participated in management, and conflicts resolved over time.

3. A system in which all employees participate in management

Creation of management guidelines, goals and information sharing

The company prepares a management guideline every year. As a guideline for overall management, the "Management Philosophy" is explained first, followed by "Management Vision", "Management Policy", "Quality Policy", "Mid-Term Plan", "Sales Target", "Sales Share", "Capital Investment Plan", "Education Plan", "Practical project” and “role of each meeting” are displayed. The above is created by the Corporate Planning Office, which consists of the president, senior managing director, one general manager, one section manager, and one leader. Next, it moves on to action guidelines for each of the 15 groups formed under the molding manufacturing department, mold manufacturing department, and sales department. This is to convert the overall management guidelines into group-specific guidelines, which are created with the participation of group members, centered on the top leader of the group. The members of the Corporate Planning Office mentioned above also join them. In one group, the goals of the entire group include "reduction of work-in-progress," "promotion of multi-skilled workers," and "reduction of overtime hours," and for each of them, specific goals such as "reduce the amount of work in progress from 8 million yen to 6.4 million yen", "create one standard work sheet per month", and "below 15 hours of overtime per month" are listed. What is noteworthy is that individual targets with individual names are also set. Responsibilities for production are clearly specified, and the goal of a certain leader is described such as to implement a work-in-progress survey implementation plan to check whether the production plan is appropriate, to investigate the causes of on-site problems, and to carry out improvements once a month.  In the case of general members, there are descriptions such as ``make it possible to quickly start up products that use nippers (shortening target of 8 minutes)'' and ``learn how to disassemble and maintain molds that are complicated to maintain''.

The core of the company's management is the creation of a management guideline by all employees in this way, because the creation of guidelines has the following meanings. The first is for employees to have goals. The overall management guidelines are created by the executives who make up the Corporate Planning Office, but employees make the overall guidelines their own by creating guidelines for each group based on this. They set group goals for themselves and also set individual goals. By getting employees involved in the creation of the management guideline, the goals of the overall management and the department are their own, and they also have their own goals. Mr. Takase emphasizes the importance of employees having goals. This is because without a goal, one cannot exercise one's abilities and feel one's work is rewarding. By making the goals of the entire management and departments their own, they become integrated with the organization and feel joy in achieving the goals of the organization. Man is a working animal that helps each other, and this human nature is realized. Achieving personal goals brings joy of personal growth.

Second, the management guideline is a means of information sharing. The creation of the guideline is a forum for general employees to share information issued by management executives, and for executives to share information issued by general employees. It is also a place for employees to share information horizontally. In addition, a monthly debriefing session is held for all employees on the first Monday of every month to show the progress of achieving the sales targets indicated in the management guideline. Monthly company profit and loss, monthly sales forecast, monthly profit and loss by group, explanation of newly launched products, monthly quality, etc. are reported. Information is the basis of human behavior, and if information is shared, it is possible to act autonomously without being ordered one by one. Shared and enriched information enhances an individual's ability to discover new information as compared to limited information on the individual. Unlike the case where a specific person has a monopoly on information, information sharing equalizes people and builds human relationships based on solidarity. In every part of Mr. Takase's talk, we can hear the Doyukai's organizational principles of "independence, democracy, and solidarity," and information sharing is the foundation of these principles.

Visualization and independence through profit and loss calculation by department

The company calculates profit and loss for each group based on the indirect costs allocated to the group, the group's raw material costs, and personnel costs. Its purpose is "visualization". If only the profit and loss calculation of the whole company is shown, the results of the employees' own labor cannot be seen. What is good or bad about their labor can be clarified from the profit and loss calculation of their department, and they can improve the problems by themselves. According to Mr. Takase, this allows employees to become the main players in the PDCA cycle. The first case of dividing into such groups is when the line was created only by the above-mentioned new graduates. It developed into action guidelines and a unit of profit and loss calculation.

It didn't work right away

With the above structure, the “all-participation type” management was formed. President Takase emphasizes the importance of creating a system. If there is no mechanism, no matter who says various things to an individual, it will not work. It's like dropping a B29 with a bamboo spear. He says that we must create a system that will produce results naturally.

From this talk by Mr. Takase, we can see that the mechanism can be said to be a kind of technology. It is a "social technology" for achieving the social purpose of the management philosophy. The creation and utilization of "social technology" is essential, just as companies need manufacturing technology such as molds and molding technology.

This “social technology” did not come to fruition immediately. They tried to "visualize" the line for new graduates only, but the employees could not understand what they were doing. The president was also unable to say that he fully embraced the Doyukai's organizational principles of independence, democracy, and solidarity, and lacked the ability to convince employees. Mr. Takase says that there are many things that do not go well without experience. Therefore, trial and error and time were required to form the "mechanism".

    There is a stage play called "Sun of Thaw: Ganbare Machi Kouba" written by Mr. Takase (performed in March 2006). A young president who took over a troubled company heard from a Doyukai member that sales would increase if management policies were made. So, he produced a few guidelines Overnight that he copied from others, and unilaterally announced them to the employees to provoke their resentment. A client warned that orders for its main product would be suspended, so the president informed his employees of a 20% wage cut, and received a strong backlash from the employees. He realized that he had thought everyone should listen to the president, and he apologized to the employees about it, which worked to change the attitude of employees. The motif of the play is the difficulty of mutual understanding between people, and it is likely that the ``all-participation-type'' management was gradually formed with such conflicts with employees. President Takase says he rarely involves with management now, and he thinks that "People are happiest when they realize their potential, and that seeing young people develop their potential is what makes him happiest as president."

4. Money is also important, the structure of remuneration for labor

Many employees quit due to the Lehman Shock. When the economy recovered and wages and bonuses were increased, employees felt relieved and trusted the company, and no one quit. President Takase says that there is no way to live without a rewarding and solid financial reward. Takase Kanagata aims to achieve an annual income of 5.5 million yen by the age of 35, the age of marriage. When it comes to leader class, they usually reach this level. President Takase says, from now on, he wants to increase the number of vacation days. In Japan, the wage gap has become fixed, and it has become commonplace for SMEs to have low wages. The large wage gap with large companies is strange. Toyota Motor Corporation should also raise the subcontract unit price, that's what Toyota employees should speak out.

There are two types of remuneration for labor. One is economic rewards such as wages/bonuses and stable employment. But humans are not satisfied with this alone.

Through work they realize themselves as autonomous and capable. Through labor they satisfy their desire to be of service to others. People also desire non-economic rewards such as "job satisfaction" from labor. “All-participation type” management increases “job satisfaction”. However, without sufficient financial rewards, the desire for “job satisfaction” cannot emerge.

The structure of remuneration for labor is that economic remuneration serves as the foundation, and non-economic remuneration of job satisfaction stands on top of it. President Takase's words, "Money is also important," refer to this structure of rewards from labor.