Shinkou Mfg Co., Ltd.
Originally Published in Cutting Tool Engineering Magazine, October 2023.
Mazak machine that supports the challenge without saying "No"
"Yes, I Can." This is the management philosophy of Shinkou Mfg Co., Ltd. (Minami-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture), which handles gaskets and high-performance resin products. What is included is "the spirit of not saying no!" It is a mechanism to remember the feeling of "exerting the maximum effort to meet the customer's request".
Think How You Can, Not Why You Can't
The company's predecessor was a limited company established in 1966 by President Yamada's grandfather, who ran an iron factory. The main business was the manufacture of punched products. Since 1987, when the Shinshiro Manufacturing factory was newly established, the scope of business has expanded in accordance with the expansion of the factory. In 2005, the company became a joint-stock company. In 2020, the Shinshiro Manufacturing NC factory was expanded and the business foundation was solidified.
The current product composition (based on sales) is 50% for gaskets for automatic transmission, 25% for high-performance resin products, 15% for plant gaskets, and 10% for polyurethane products. President Yamada sees the expansion of product lineup that go beyond the business at the time of the company's founding as "the result of sales force dedicated to meeting customer needs."
"Our company's strength is that we never say 'no'. This is because we have a deep-rooted habit of thinking as a team about how we can do it, rather than listing reasons why we can't do it," says President Yamada.
"If a customer has a problem, we will deliver even one small part. Profitability is disregarded. I believe that the accumulation and trust of our customers has led to our current reputation," said Senior Managing Director Shigehito Yamada.
A factory where successive generations of MAZATROL are active
According to Mr. Yamada, Senior Managing Director, "In order to meet the demands, it is essential to improve technology and develop human resources." The company chose Mazak as a partner that they place great trust in manufacturing.
The relationship with Mazak began in 1981 when Chairman Mitsuyoshi, father of President Yamada, introduced an early model of the QUICK TURN, the CNC lathe.
"My father had a vision of automating production from the time when there were only general-purpose machines. After careful consideration of the model for that purpose, he decided to adopt the QUICK TURN 10 controlled by the MAZATROL T-1."
Chairman Mitsuyoshi was impressed by the capability of MAZATROL, a conversational CNC system that is much easier to use than conventional systems. Since then, Mazak machines equipped with MAZATROL have been used for the main machining at the manufacturing site. At the Shinshiro Manufacturing NC Factory, which is responsible for resin machining, representative models such as lathes, 5-axis machines, and vertical machining centers are in full operation, centering on multi-tasking machines.
“High-performance resins such as fluorine resin are used as a part of cleaning equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing process. We are working to optimize the production system by using different machines according to the types of parts and applications,” said Mr. Sugano, factory manager.
Construction of an integrated high-performance resin plant
“Mazak machine tools are valuable in supporting our company's ability to take on challenges and not say 'no' to our customers' requests.” President Yamada says about Mazak machines.
"The recent success story of 'Yes, I Can.' is the commercialization of acrylic tags. Although this was our first request, we urged the site to take on challenges without fear of failure,"said Senior Managing Director Yamada.
Sales, which were initially 20,000 to 100,000 yen per month, have now increased to 2 million yen. “When we moved to the Shinshiro Manufacturing factory, there were only a few Mazak machines, but now there are more than 20 of them. As a result of multiple trials and errors not to say 'no', it was increasing.”
The shift to EVs, one of the recent revolutions in the automotive industry, is affecting the company as well. As a countermeasure, the company is promoting the expansion of high-performance resin products. They plan to construct a new factory with an integrated production system for high-performance resins, from material manufacturing to machining, next to the Shinshiro Manufacturing NC factory.
The completion is scheduled for spring 2025. The introduction of Mazak machines has also been factored in.The slogan for challenging the new business environment is, of course, “Yes, I Can.”
