GK sat down with Norihiko Inazuma, the President of Weds Co., Ltd. to talk about the growing SUV market and the company’s commitment to designing lightweight, high-performance wheels for the next generation of drivers.
In your opinion, what is it that makes Japanese products so desirable? What gives Japan a competitive advantage?
The Japanese are diligent in manufacturing and put a significant amount of energy into research and development. Trial-and-error is also valued as a way to develop good products. The global market also recognizes Japanese products for their aesthetics and quality, an area where Japanese companies never compromise.
How do you plan to adopt smart, IoT-integrated technologies into your production processes?
In response to this shift, we have been implementing computerized milling into our processes, along with 5-axis processing for precise applications. This technology allows us to produce designs that were not possible before, which we are thankful for as we have seen the demand for these complicated designs increase recently. However, similar to the fashion industry, trends in the aftermarket parts also follow cycles, and, as such, we are seeing increased demand for classic-look parts as well. In the future, we will meet both of these needs in parallel; both the cutting edge and the classic.
In our company, there is still a need for skilled artisans; however, we are combining their skills with digital systems into an integrated system. Complete digitization is not possible as some steps still require manual labor; as we are an aftermarket parts maker, consumers are looking for wheels that are significantly higher quality than their mass-produced counterparts.
As your company produces wheels used in a variety of applications, which area are you experiencing the most growth in?
Currently, the biggest market for growth is the SUV market; we have seen a large increase in demand in this sector. Geographically, we have our eyes set on the Chinese market, which has recently relaxed regulations on aftermarket parts. Due to a boost in population as well as car ownership rates, China will be one of our biggest markets going forward.
Regarding new products, we are looking to continue to develop lightweight products that remain rigid and strong, as well as working on systems that can maintain a smooth air pressure inside the tire. Our ‘Air Plus Alpha’ product contains a special groove on the rim that increases air volume to make the air pressure stable.
