AOTS Journal 2017 AUTUMN No.11 （ENGLISH)

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9No. 11 AUTUMN 2017(Left) Metal dies manufactured by the Thai base are supplied to customers inside Thailand(Right) Japanese instructors were sent to Thailand for start-up assistanceUntil about 15 years ago, our company was run by 3 or 4 family members. Without high technological expertise or nan-cial abundance, we placed special emphasis on human resource development. This has turned into our corporate culture, which has attracted young people, resulting in a gradual increase in the number of employees. We place great importance on communi-cation between members of the company, striving to keep our teamwork strong.Our rst-ever overseas business expansion was made in Vietnam, where we were able to do business in a similar manner as in Japan. We built our condence in our way of doing business in Japan. As we saw more positive prospects for our business in Vietnam, we shared the local experience with Thailand and the Philippines.After the start of doing business overseas, without any efforts, information regarding the trends of local businesses, and local demands in services and products are readily available. Manufacturers or suppliers of the businesses related to ours have frequently made referrals of companies that entered the market recently to us, while our business partners asking us for consulta-tion. Our growth has been supported by our commitment toward solving the problems of our clients abroad.It is well understood that the start-up of your operations in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines has been supported by making full use of the potential of the local human resources.After founding our rst-ever overseas base in Vietnam, we were worried about local human resource development. Coincidentally, there was a business brieng session in Hanoi, explaining the AOTS’s training programs. We decided to use the AOTS’s training programs in Japan, soon after receiving the explanation thereof. We sent 6 of our start-up personnel to Japan for training from 2011 to 2012. We continued to send people every year till 2017, producing a total of 25 training participants. This has helped us a lot in successfully localizing the Vietnamese oper-ation within three years. At present, the manufacturing process is all performed by Vietnamese, while the expatriate Japanese staff member assumes the head of the local operation. Using Japanese language skills acquired through their training in Japan, the returnee personnel teamed up to teach their subordinates the language by turns. This is thought to be one cause for the growth.Our base in Thailand was put into operation in the summer of 2014.Two craftsmen were sent from Japan for start-up assis-tance. They stayed in Thailand for another two years to provide new employees with training in great detail. We aim to complete the localization of the Thai operation within three years, as is the case of Vietnam. Two local staff members were sent to Japan in 2016 and another two in 2017, using the AOTS’s training program.Our Filipino base was only put into operation in 2016. Previously, we exported dies produced in Vietnam to the Philippines. We decided to set up a new plant in the Philippines, as domestic demand in the country was projected to increase. Being an SME, we have a problem of lack of human and nan-cial resources. If we send highly skilled engineers from Japan for long-term training each time we set up a new base abroad, the productivity of our Head Ofce in Japan will be considerably undermined. This is the reason that we decided to use the AMEICC “ASEAN-by-ASEAN” program to send Vietnamese engineers to the Philippines. The engineers are all former AOTS training participants, who have received technical training in Japan under the AOTS’s training program. Each of the 3 dispatches, we sent 2 Vietnamese experts to provide training in the Philippines for one-month instruction, making a total of 6 of them.Besides being ahead in the industry in terms of business expansion in Asian countries, you have many young employees despite the overall aging of the wooden die industry. What is your thought on corporate management?As far as I know, we are the only Japanese company in the wooden die industry, doing business outside of Japan. As the representative of Japan, we are aiming to be a global leader in the niche industry by spreading the “Japan brand.” The primary strengths of our company lie in our “people” and “spirit of chal-lenge.” Companies clinging to conventional thought, unable to make exible moves, will not survive the market. I believe this is always true, irrespective of the size of the company. Filipino staff members being trained by Vietnamese engineers at the Filipino baseOutline of the ASEAN-by-ASEAN program by Noda Co., Ltd. [Application]Accepting Vietnamese engineers from the Vietnamese subsidiary into the Filipino subsidiary for providing instruction“ASEAN by ASEAN” (Third-country type, Implemented across borders), from Vietnam to the Philippines Processing of Thomson and chromium dies and quality managementAs NODA Philippines CO., LTD. has just been founded, staff members do not have sufcient manufacturing skills yet and need to develop their quality awareness. The training aims at improving their understanding of the overall ow of processes, from order taking to delivery, and of the importance of productivity and efciency, as well as at the mastery of processing skills. As it is difcult to master the skills involving full of craftsmanship, the training should be provided in three separate segments.Part 1 (25 days): Basic knowledge and the overall ow, from order taking to deliveryPart 2 (28 days): Complex-shaped dies, the manufacture of which requires advanced skillsPart 3 (28 days): Skills for higher-precision processing, balanced with productivity and efciency* Rather than “elimination of errors,” the instruction focuses on “quality that can satisfy customers.” Acceptance of expertsTypeTarget skillsReason and aimTraining processes:::::