HIDA Journal 2015 AUTUMN No.7

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6　HIDA JOURNALFukuoka Rashi Co., Ltd.Expanding into Vietnam with the Aim of Expanding Sales Channels in an Overseas Growth Market – Maintaining a Competitive Edge through Meticulous Power Conservation Can you start by giving us some background on how you decided on Vietnam as the destination for your rst overseas expansion? Eyeglass-related companies are concentrated here in Sabae, but recently eyeglass frames have been growing increasingly polarized into high-end products and inexpensive, mass-produced products, with most of the mass-produced products being made in China. We manufacture high-end products in Japan, but we need to cut costs in order to keep prices down so that we can prevail in competition against imported brand products and the like. Therefore, we are shifting production bases overseas and supplying China with metal parts for eyeglasses produced at low cost, while also supplying metal parts for high-end eyeglasses in Japan. Our thinking was that by doing this, we would be able to maintain and expand our sales channels. Cutting costs is one of our reasons for expanding overseas, but cultivating various needs in overseas growth markets is another major reason for this. We initially considered expanding into China, but we decided on Vietnam after receiving some reliable information from a client that is knowledgeable about Vietnam. In the past you’ve used the experts dispatch program twice and the training in Japan program once. What sorts of subject matter were covered in each? At first I was personally providing guidance locally in Vietnam. I guided the local staff who had been newly hired as executive candidates on creating systems for production management, quality inspections, procurement, and more for carrying out production activities. Two of the people whom I instructed directly back then (one person in charge of general affairs and inspections, one person in charge of production) were accepted to Japan the following year, where they learned about the Japanese approach to work and quality through hands-on experience. As a result, we were able to get them up to the level where we could shift a minimal amount of work to this local company. Therefore, in order to take the next step up, or in other words, to strive to raise productivity and cut costs, we decided to dispatch our employee as an expert once more. So you acknowledged that cutting costs by rationalizing production processes was a major challenge for you? Currently, our local corporation in Vietnam mainly manufactures hinges for eyeglasses, with the majority of these exported to China. Price competition with local manufacturers in China is extremely erce and so we have to lower our manufacturing costs as much as possible, which is why we decided to work towards rationalizing our production processes. Therefore, when we consulted with HIDA, they recommended that we achieve energy savings in our production processes through the use of the Carbon Reduction Technology Promotion Programs, while simultaneously working to cut costs. At the time, one of our two engineers was undergoing training in Japan, so we dispatched an engineer from the company as an expert in order to provide guidance to the other one. How did you go about promoting energy conservation and reducing carbon the second time you used the experts dispatch program? Next, we will introduce Fukuoka Rashi Co., Ltd., which is a manufacturer of metal parts for things like eyeglasses, as a case example of using the experts dispatch program. Fukuoka Rashi Co., Ltd. established a local corporation (Fukuokarashi Vietnam Co., Ltd.) in Long Đức Industrial Park in the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam in May 2013. Fukuoka Rashi Co., Ltd. produces products for the Asian market, such as China, backed by its technical prowess accumulated as a specialized manufacturer of eyeglass screws located in Sabae, which is famous for being a hotbed for the eyeglasses industry. In FY2013, it dispatched an employee onsite to Fukuokarashi Vietnam Co., Ltd. to provide guidance to local staff through the use of the experts dispatch program in order to set up management and production systems for its local corporation. In addition, in FY2014 it held training in Japan for two local staff members using the training in Japan program, while at the same time dispatching an employee to Vietnam once more using the experts dispatch program. As such, we spoke with Mr. Onchi, the Planning Manager, about their history of using both programs and their results. Head ofce 4-4, Yanagi-machi, Sabae, FukuiEstablished 1973Capital 15 million yen Employees 80 (as of April 2015)Description of businessManufacturing precision metal parts for eyeglasses, etc. From left, Mr. Onchi, the Planning Manager, and Mr. Tran Phuoc Sang, who is currently undergoing training Carbon Reduction Technology Promotion Programs

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