The most striking aspect of this piece is that the sheetmetal assembly was utilized insted of the casting frame, but the big issue was how to achieve the cost performance required for mass production. The key was to use a rivet structure for the spindle casting. This solution provided accuracy, equivalent to that of machined parts, and at the same time reduced lead time and, by a wide margin, costs. It is said that the"dog years", short life cycle, of products in the era of information technology means that a company's viability depends on its speed. Value analysis design of sheetmetal from castings is a revolutionary technique that contributes to zero inventories and delivers radical reductions in lead time and costs. We consider it a new resource for this rapidly changing operating environment in that it keeps our product lineup forever fresh. We believe that the way to remain competitive and gain market leadership in the context of globalization is innovative management that reacts quickly to changing customer needs, involves high levels of skill in workmanship and offers customers an extensive array of value analysis services.
We are tremendously grateful to receive this award in a fair of such a high level with many participants from around the world.
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Konsei Obayashi
President
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