Day 2 Video
Blog: Manufacturing Relationships Across the Pacific
Manufacturing Relationships Across the Pacific
September 24, 2011
As I sit on the bus for our two-hour bus ride back to Tokyo from Ota City, I'm looking around at a lot of heavy eyes from the members of our delegation. This helps me gauge the amount of work we're accomplishing. I want Hoosiers to be assured that hard work is being put into bringing jobs back home.
Today, we visited four different companies that do business in Indiana. They are all a part of the Fuji Heavy Industries, and perhaps their companies have an effect on your community. Our plant tours were held at Subaru, Toa, Shigeru, and, Sakamoto. I'd love to take few minutes to talk about these companies and what they are doing in Japan as well as Indiana.
In 1989, Subaru opened its doors in Lafayette bringing an immeasurable boost to that region of the state. They now employ approximately 2,500 Hoosiers building 178,000 cars per year. Today, we visited the Gunma Yajima plant. There we received a first-hand look at vehicles like the Legacy and Outback being assembled from start to finish. Can you believe they have a new car coming off the line every 60 seconds?
Yesterday, I mentioned the importance of relationship building. Well, I was pleased to spend time talking and touring the plant with the General Manager Mr. Yukihiro Kozuka. He spent four years working at the Lafayette plant before moving back to Japan. We hit it off immediately as I was able to impress him with a Hoosier's knowledge of cars. I would say our Subaru and Indiana relationship is still very strong.
We wrapped up our time at Subaru hosting a lunch with eight of their suppliers who also do business in Indiana. These Japanese suppliers have plants in our smaller cities all over Indiana. They come as a direct effect of Subaru's presence in our state. We then spent the afternoon visiting three of those eight factory plants.
Our first stop took us to Toa Industries. There I met the president Mr. Shinichi Iizuka. He made sure we all had smiles on our faces because it was the plants number one rule. So with big grins the entire delegation took a tour of the factory.
Toa also does business in Mooresville, where they employ about 500 Hoosiers. Their company manufactures the car's skeletal like frame as well as suspension parts.
Toa also has a housing division to their company, but they don't yet do business in the USA.
Next, we ventured over to Shigeru, known to people back home as Heartland Automotive. In Indiana they are based out of Greencastle and Lafayette with a combined work force of about 700. This Subaru supplier makes interior parts such as dashboards and seats.
Mr. Atshuo Shoda, the president of Shigeru, was kind enough to take us on a plant tour as well. We watched one gentleman as he had about one minute to put together the parts of a dashboard. I'd be lying if I didn't say it was impressive.
Our last stop of the day took us over to our friends at Sakamoto. There they make vehicle gas tanks and exhaust systems. They also have a company in Elwood called Elsa. I was so glad President Masataka Sakamoto was there to show us around his company.
At each stop along the way I inquired into the potential of expansion by the company. These companies are now thriving after the setback with the earthquake, which should mean more new jobs for Hoosiers.
Judging by the heavy eyes that are now closed on the bus I would say that today was a pretty tiring day. However, it was great to see some of our delegates interact with the members representing companies in their Indiana towns. Days like today go a long way in building and maintaining the strong relationships we have with companies like Fuji Heavy, Subaru, and their suppliers.
Well, there's no time to stop. I am already looking forward to the start of the Midwest/Japan association conference.
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