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business performance is improving despite the general
frailty of the Japanese
economy.
We have focused our product
portfolio on high-value-added items. And that has helped
us cope with the persistent weakness in the market for
copper products. By "high-value-added items,"
I mean things like lead frames for semiconductor devices
and like high-precision terminals and connectors for
automobiles. Lead frames, as you might know, are the
spiderlike metal arms that project out from semiconductor
devices and other electronic components and connect
the components to circuit boards.
High-value-added products now account for
about 85% of our sales, up from
65% only a couple of years ago. Japanese demand has
picked up some in the information
technology sector, but it is still way down from its
peak level. On the other hand, demand remains very strong
in the automotive sector. And that has helped us a lot.
In that sense, your business
performance mirrors trends in Japanese industry overall.
You really need to maintain
a broad, long-term perspective. Otherwise, you can lose
sight of where the world is headed. Japanese companies
have excelled at the "how to" of manufacturing.
That's why they are global leaders in quality and productivity
in several sectors. U.S. companies, however, have been
more astute in some sectors about what to make.
Look around at Japanese manufacturers,
and you still see a lot of world-beaters in productivity.
But success in the global markets of today requires
more than productivity--more than quality, even. It
requires strategic vision. The companies that are doing
well in Japan today are companies that combine world-class
quality and productivity with sophisticated insight.
So what is your vision
for Mitsubishi Shindoh?
"Vision" needs to
be something more than numerical targets and long-range
business plans. Of course, we have a group in the company
that maps out corporate strategy and monitors our progress
toward business and financial goals. And my job as president
includes supervising that work. But my notion of management
"vision" means tackling issues on a higher
plane.
Namely, we need to imbue our corporate
culture with a spirit of professionalism. Each individual
and each organizational unit needs to take pride in
their work and take responsibility for identifying better
ways to get things done. That includes maintaining a
highly flexible stance and responding quickly to changing
market needs. The pace of technological progress and
shifting demand is especially rapid in the electronics
sector. We need to be alert. And we need to be quick.
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You seem to be doing pretty well
in that regard.
We need to do better still.
Yes, we've done well in developing copper alloys and product
designs to position our company as a cost-competitive
leader in technological performance. But we will need
to tap new sources of technology to maintain a competitive
edge in fast-changing markets. Mitsubishi Materials, our
biggest shareholder, is a world leader in metallurgical
and other technologies. I began my career at Mitsubishi
Materials, and stepping up technological interchange with
that company is a core emphasis in our management agenda.
Where do international operations
rank on your agenda?
Very high. Our Malaysian plant
is a pillar of our global supply strategy. And we will
complete a second overseas plant this summer--a joint
venture with Kobe Steel in Thailand.
Presently, we supply copper coil raw material
to the Malaysian plant from a Japanese plant. But both
of our Southeast Asian plants will purchase a growing
portion of their coil from a Taiwanese company. We own
a minority stake in that company and are providing technology
to ensure that the coil is just as good as anything from
Japan.
What does being part of the
Mitsubishi tradition mean for your company?
First of all, it means sharing
a strong sense of corporate responsibility. The people
who established the first Mitsubishi companies were genuinely
committed to bettering society through business. That
commitment was the founding principle of the Mitsubishi
companies. And it remains our guiding principle in charting
our corporate direction and in hiring, training and motivating
our people.
Second, the Mitsubishi connection is a tremendous
advantage in developing business and building partnerships
around the world. People trust and recognize the Mitsubishi
name. And friendly ties with fellow Mitsubishi companies
provide us with access to up-to-date information about
issues and opportunities in markets worldwide.
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