What has not been changed for twenty-two years is a corporate culture that recognizes and supports individuals’ happiness.
Executive Officer, General MGR of Production Management Dept.
Masaya Sawada
Please tell us about your current position or job description at the company.
Basically, as a general manager of the production management department, my job task is to manage each section while communicating with the section managers, and also to go around the site and communicate with other employees to identify problems within the company, which are need to be improved and to work to resolve them.
As one of the executive officers, I also think about how to make the employees think the policies and the visions decided by the management side as a real thing that affects them, and try to persuade it to them.
Although there are many employees who have joined us as mid-careers, I have been with the company for twenty-two years since I have joined as a graduate, and I am proud to say that I am one of the people who is a witness of the history of this company for a long time.
Twenty-two years are a very long...! Going back to your past, what made you to join the company?
My father’s family was running own business, and I had been looked up his career in manufacturing since I was a junior high school student. Therefore, I decided to enter an technical high school and after graduation I started looking for a job soon, but although I was still young, I found that I could feel deeply touched with the corporate culture of Kyowa Seiki, and I desired to join the company.
After twenty-two years, I think you've seen the things changed and not changed, how are you feeling about it?
In the past, the way of working was just to do what was assigned, but the atmosphere has been changed to be more challenging by introducing everyone’s opinions, and I think it works positively in the company too.
While moving toward a new form of manufacturing, first of all we have a corporate culture which the voluntarily challenging mind is the most evaluated. The company as a whole encourages employees to take on challenges without any fears of failures, and this encourages each individual to feel "Let’s give it a try.” I feel that this is what motivates and rewarding to our employees.
Are there any impressive episodes from your many years at Kyowa Seiki?
Originally, I was thinking of taking over my family's business, so I decided to work at Kyowa Seiki to train myself in technology field and human relations field too. After I got the job, I honestly told Kazuo, the late founder, about it.
Generally thinking, it would be difficult to feel to teach a skill to someone who you already know that the person will quit sooner or later or difficult to feel work together, but Mr. Kazuo said, "l understand. So please work hard and learn for it with us," and I believe once again that the culture of "We as company will support people as much as we can if it makes employees happy" has been taken over to this day.
When you were a player in the production management department, were there any moments that made you impressed or happy?
In metal cutting works, there are only few fancy things made that become popular in the world. However, for example, after learned that we make the parts used in somewhere in the trains or buses that I and my family see and use every day, I began to feel proud of that we were producing parts that support our daily lives.
Of course, there are opportunities that we collaborate with other industries to make interesting products, but I feel like a sense of responsibility for making important products even such small things as I mentioned above.
What motivates you in your recent work and what is rewarding for yourself?
Especially since our vice president joined the company, the company has entered a phase of the rapid growth and change. Therefore, I feel that each decision and action I take on a daily basis will lead to changes in the company soon in the next day, and I often feel that “If I work a little bit harder today, it makes the company even better tomorrow.” I feel that this is the most rewarding part of my job.
As the manager of the production management department, do you have things you want to make more growth or changes the most?
Since we run a manufacturing plant to make products, I would like to add new equipment as well as using the one which has been introduced from the beginning, increase the types and quantities of products that can be produced, and more and more continue to improve quality of equipment to promote DX.
The amount of information available to young people has changed since the past, and I think they have a much greater capacity for business ideas by far. I would like to keep thinking outside the box and adapt while taking in these aspects as much as possible.
