AOTS Journal 2017 AUTUMN No.11 （ENGLISH)

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JOURNAL8Founded in Osaka City in 1985, Noda Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer specializing in wooden dies, Thomson dies, pinnacle dies and etching blades. Despite being in a niche industry of wooden dies, with a not- so-bright prospects of growth, the company has been successful in expanding its business across Japan and abroad under the slogan of “Create a challenge in and compete in the world market,” and has established a global production system. Approximately 70%–80% of the customers of its local operations in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines are accounted for by Japanese-afliated compa-nies. The company presses down many different materials using its wooden dies, for example, resin, rubber, lm, sponge, paper, PP, and PET. The pressed materials are used in a wide range of indus-tries, including automobile, mobile phone, PC, medicine, and food.Head Ofce: 2-2-15 Nakagawa-Higashi, Ikuno-ku, Osaka-shiEstablished: 1985Capital: 10 million yenEmployees: 70 in Japan, 70 in Vietnam, 30 in Thailand, and 20 in the Philippines (As of 2016)Description of business: Production and sales of wooden, punching, Thomson, and chromium diesBases in Japan: Osaka Head Ofce, Tokyo Ofce, Chubu Ofce, and Kyushu Sales OfceOverseas bases:NODA VIETNAM CO., LTD. (established in 2011), NODA THAILAND CO., LTD. (established in 2013), and NODA Philippines CO., LTD. (estab-lished in 2015)Secrets of overseas success in an industry they said couldn’t be expanded abroadNoda Co., Ltd.Transfer of technologies has been traditionally implemented by sending Japanese experts to overseas subsidiaries or by inviting managers or engineers from overseas subsidiaries for training in Japan. As the technological capacity of over-seas subsidiaries has improved signicantly, however, calls have been increasing for systems by which local core human resources of ASEAN nationalities can play leading roles in the transfer of Japanese Monodzukuri.The AOTS has been implementing the AMEICC “ASEAN-by-ASEAN” program, where subsidies are paid to support technical training, organized in the ASEAN region, and delivered by an engineer of a subsidiary located in another country of the region. Aside from an explanation of the outline of the program, the following describes how a Japanese company spread the success of their rst-ever business entry in Vietnam to other countries in the region, using the AOTS’s training programs. (For more information about AMEICC Projects, please refer to Page 10.)Implemented in the following two forms:● Acceptance of expertsSubsidies are paid to a company in the ASEAN region to cover the cost of technical instruction by an expert invited from a Japanese-afliated company located in the region.Example) Accepting a Thai expert from Thailand for technical instruction in Vietnam● Sending of traineesSubsidies are offered to a company in the ASEAN region to cover the cost of sending their employees to a Japanese-afliated company in the region for technical instruction.Example) Sending Burmese staff members to Thailand for trainingYou are in an industry which was believed to be impossible to expand abroad, because of the master craftsmanship involved. What has made you decide to do business overseas?A great majority of companies in this industry are family busi-nesses. The reality is that they just cannot afford to expand overseas, for nancial, personnel, or other reasons. There is no other company in this industry, located in our neighborhood, that turned their rough idea of international business expansion into full market entry. However, the market has been shrinking in Japan and many customers have relocated their production bases overseas. I think it was our quickness to make up our mind that enabled us to go overseas.[Expenses that can be covered by subsidies] Technical training fees, traveling and accommodation expenses, and interpretation fees(Multiple receipt of the subsidies is possible until the total sum reaches a maximum of 2.4 million yen per company.)Business Flow Diagram Sending ofparticipantsCostCompensationAMEICCAOTSExperts holdingthe nationality of ASEANmember statesAgreement andmemorandumregarding technicalinstructionEngineers, managersholding the nationality ofASEAN member statesJapanese-afliated TrainingCompanies Providing Training(implementing company)Training Companies Receiving Training (participating company)Acceptance of expertsThailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, and Singapore (10 ASEAN countries)Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (8 ASEAN countries)An Example of Use of the AOTS’s AMEICC Project “ASEAN-by-ASEAN”Outline of the AMEICC “ASEAN-by-ASEAN” program An example of use of the Program