Aiming for the top in Tsuneishi

From the very beginning, I convinced myself to become the number one in the company and worked hard to achieve this goal. In addition to welding, I was willing to learn anything in any field. You never know what could become useful to you one day.
When checking the work procedure for which we are responsible, we must know the preceding stage of the process. And even after our work is done, the process still continues. So, if you have better knowledge of the processes before and after your assigned work, you will be naturally aware of how you can further improve work efficiency or what you should do to make it right. When you encounter something you don’t understand, you have to ask someone who does understand it – even if it is your junior. I myself had times feeling embarrassed, but the knowledge through such learning over years has enabled me to take up difficult but rewarding challenges such as the setting-up of new factories.

How long did it take before you considered yourself professional?

At least 10 years, I guess. Young generations are smart and they often think they understand something merely by reading books. But things are not as simple as that. You need daily interaction with your coworkers and practical experience on site, to assimilate whatever you have learnt. You will build mutual trust with your coworkers and then you will become one of ‘us.’ I believe this is the point you can call yourself professional in a real sense.

Take up any challenge. The experience will sustain you.

I took the initiative and got opportunities to visit and participate in the setting-up of factories in Philippines and China. In such new projects as factory setting-up, specialties do not matter. I was involved in everything, literally. In China (Zhoushan), a gantry crane was available, but the rail had not been completed. We let concrete solidify – one meter at a time – and fixed rail bars on it… Yes, we built our first ship that way (smile). You just can’t say that you wouldn’t do anything other than your assigned tasks. Build the scaffolding. Each person taking part in the testing one way or another. We were all together for constructing the factory and building the ship at the same time. This experience was useful when starting a new factory in Paraguay.

Cherish and follow our corporate culture to value every member of the company

What do you think is needed for the future of Tsuneishi?

Starting new factories was quite a challenge. What got me through it is that it was rewarding, of course. That’s one thing. But another thing is the company’s policy to value every member of the company.
Our company president knew all the names of the employees there on the site and talked to us. Such a warm exchange with people made me feel ‘Let’s do it! We can make it.’ We have such a good corporate culture; I want to keep it and cherish it. I myself make it a habit to greet people in the morning and from the responders’ countenances, I try to sense their physical condition or mindset on that particular day. To facilitate the work, I think this is necessary.
Efficiency improvement, rationalization, and management by figures are of course important, but if our feelings are left behind, nothing fruitful will come. We cannot move forward without this less-professional-but-essential aspect of our work, and someone has to be in charge of it. We value each of our members. We say so but if we don’t have anyone who exemplifies it, no one can understand the meaning of it. We learned it by seeing how our company president and seniors treated others. I really want to follow this corporate culture of ours. This is what we should always treasure as the employees of Tsuneishi.

Be a dreamer. With dreams, difficulties can be overcome.

We went through severe economic downturns and had tough times. There were moments I thought I should leave this job, but I had a dream. It was a dream everyone had at that time. Make my family happy. Make our life better. Such yearnings were my anchors while confronting difficulties.
Now that times are different, I don’t think the situation is exactly the same. But I do want young people to dream big and work with aspirations.