GK spoke with Takahiko Mozume, President of Magnetec Japan Co., Ltd., about how monozukuri shapes Japanese manufacturing and the company’s IoT-driven initiatives.
In terms of Japanese innovation and its concept of Monozukuri, what gives the country a competitive advantage against other regional competitors?
The strengths of Monozukuri lie in quality management and attention to detail. As a company that provides foreign object detection services, we always focus on quality. Even though competitors from China and Vietnam are better in terms of their core industries, Japan is better in terms of materials that are based on quality control.
We have a lot of opportunities to work with other counterparts overseas. However, Japanese clients’ requests are always detailed and specific in components or designs before shipping the end products, unlike overseas clients, making it harder to manage. If you open up devices made in Japan, compared to other countries, they are relatively harder to design and overall neater. This also applies to other industries such as automotive, construction, and even apparel as well. Our company provides the model for our clients, unlike the rough designs from our competitors, to showcase invisible components.
Additionally, Japanese Monozukuri does not focus on mass production for cheaper prices like products made in China and Korea. They could not respond to the capacity to identify the requirements of clients and respond to them. We are directing our company in the right direction of Monozukuri so foreign objects are not contaminating the process. Overall in the Japanese market, the majority of companies are seeking mass production for cheaper prices in a way they are broken down.
Nonetheless, we always try to fulfill the demands and requirements, unlike most manufacturers that are thinking of attaching the cheapest component in the production: which, in reality, does not work if you are seeking high performance. Sometimes, components are attached wrongly, as well. We are trying to improve further, and that is the mission of our corporation.
How has the increased shift towards IoT and other smart integrated technologies affected your business?
As Japan is an ultra-aging society with a declining population; the working population is expected to continue to decline in 2023. To keep up with GDP growth, we are forced to rely upon digitalization. The Ministry of Technology and Industry is focusing on society 5.0., which is consistent with the current manufacturing industry. Our company has introduced IoT, AI, and robotic technology to achieve automation in the production lines in our facilities. It is relatively rare for a foreign object-detecting magnet industry; however, we are the pioneer working on automation, starting from the introduction of auto-cleaning functions attached to the equipment and also features to detect any error in the production line. It is vital for the future of the manufacturing industry.
As a company constantly innovating to meet changing client needs, how do you approach the complex task of R&D?
Collaboration with the Advanced Institute of Innovative Technology of Saitama University for research is the key. Every year, not only in performance but also to meet regulations, as well as hazard and safety requirements such as the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice). To achieve customer satisfaction, we have to continue to improve our capacity, including R&D and technological development using IoT. Our research team has been working on how to remove the tiniest microparticles of materials in an ongoing collaboration with Saitama University.
That is why our products are manufactured in a wide range of shapes and magnetic forces to meet the different needs of clients, such as our ‘pear shape’ magnet. To satisfy our clients, we have to continuously develop new products and educate them by giving them information on how to attach components to the equipment and where to attach the magnets. Sometimes, the magnets can change in terms of magnetic force over time as well, and we are developing the technology to mitigate this deterioration also.
