Page 46 - MetalForming July 2013

Study Mission to Japan:
In Search of the New Age of Quality
Japanese manufacturers speak eloquently of the country’s rebirth as a nation of quality, founded on a new era of Monozukuri or value creation. In our recent week-long tour of Japanese manufacturing facilities, courtesy of Amada, it’s evident that
the country has indeed carved out a new age of quality.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
To achieve a rebirth of Japan as a have their own value standards and became clear when MetalForming
welcome new challenges.”
So said Professor Yoshinori Iizuka,
from the Graduate School of Engi- neering at The University of Tokyo in an interview recorded in 2008. This new age of quality, spiritual structure and self-starting mentality throughout Japan’s manufacturing industry
nation of quality requires the
establishment of “the spiritual structure that the age requires...to rein- force the traditional Monozukuri abil- ities...(there’s a need) for self-starting people to lead us in taking risks as the competition around us becomes increasingly intense...(workers) who
magazine joined two other leading industry publications on a whirlwind tour of Japan.
The study mission, held May 13-17, 2013, courtesy of machine-tool builder Amada Co., Ltd., took us to two Amada customers—a small family-owned job- shop fabricator and a large OEM man- ufacturer. And, we visited Amada’s product showroom and its array of manufacturing operations and devel- opment centers. The icing on the cake: An interview with Amada Co. presi- dent and CEO Mitsuo Okamoto.
Realizing Productivity Gains Through Innovation
A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed noted that while Japan’s GDP for the first quarter of 2013 showed “surpris- ingly strong growth,...productivity gains are needed to unleash Japan’s potential after 20 years of stagnation.” Our study mission, if it accomplished nothing else, certainly showcased plenty of tools available for driving sheetmetal-fabri- cating productivity through the roof— in Japan and around the world.
The Amada dedicated laser-machine factory practices the firm’s booth-stand produc- tion system. The factory boasts 70 booth stands over nearly 18,000 sq. m of floor space, with the capacity to assemble 140 machines/month.
44 MetalForming/July 2013
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