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Oiles: A global leader in self-lubricating bearings and vibration control devices

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Interview - April 9, 2021

From automobiles and electronic devices, to construction machinery, buildings and hydro-electric power plants, these are just some of the areas in which the industry-leading technology of Oiles has a true bearing on performance. We speak with president Masami Iida to learn more about how Oiles’ revolutionary self-lubricating bearings not only vastly improve performance, durability and energy efficiency of moving machinery, but also significantly reduce pollution and environmental impact.

MASAMI IIDA, PRESIDENT OF OILES CORPORATION
MASAMI IIDA | PRESIDENT OF OILES CORPORATION

Could you give us your interpretation of monozukuri and what for you is the essence of monozukuri?

We are a manufacturing company. We believe that it is our responsibility to accurately grasp the needs of our customers and deliver the best products that are needed.

In other words, it can be said that delivering the best products naturally guarantees quality. This is what I think of as the essence of "monozukuri."

The most famous example that is easy (for foreigners) to understand is Toyota's "KAIZEN".  They are pursuing how to "improve" the production line in order to ensure quality and cost performance, that is, Kaizen exists as the means to produce and sell at high quality and low cost.  Again, we believe that delivering high-quality products to our customers is our "monozukuri".

 

We know that regional competitors such as those from Taiwan, China, and even South Korea can take advantage of economies of scale to produce similar products to Japanese ones but often at a much cheaper price. What in your opinion do you think Japanese companies should do in order to overcome this stiff pricing competition?

First of all, we prioritize the position of our customers who appreciate the functional side of our products rather than prioritizing the price. Since our parts (products) are functional and mechanical parts, it's not enough to install our parts in there. We are making indispensable parts that our customers' functions cannot be guaranteed or performed without our parts.  For example, "bearings" are often used in moving parts such as automobiles, information equipment, and electronics, and although our bearing is one small part, its existence is significant in the sense that it can fully demonstrate the performance of the machine. 

In addition, in order to extend the life cycle of machines, the functions and performance required of bearings may have an effect, and we believe that their role is significant.  Actually in China and South Korea, there are local manufacturers producing parts similar to ours and they sell them at a lower price than ours. However, we have no intention of competing for cost against that price.  Rather, we would like to value our customers who truly understand the function and performance of our parts (products) and also understand they cannot be satisfied with their function unless they use our products even if they are expensive.  So, if we just want to increase sales, we may have to overcome cost competition with competitors who offer cheap products, but we don't want to only increase sales. We would like to deliver products that our customers need. In addition, if we are obsessed with simply lowering prices, we may lose the function and quality that we value, so we separate from the business of selling cheap products.

To give you an example:

We have established a local subsidiary in China (Suzhou) to produce automobile parts and have been engaged in business activities. About 10 years ago, Some Chinese car makers were in a situation of adopting many cheap products made by local companies, and even imitated our products.

When we visited Chinese car makers for sales activities, they often said that they would buy our products for more than half of our price when we normally sell for a higher amount, but we refused all of them. That is because, as I mentioned earlier, we had a strong belief in "monozukuri."

Recently, Chinese car makers have become more focused on quality. I think that this is because in the last few years, the recognition and idea has permeated that the desired function will not be performed when using cheap products made by local companies. For this reason, Chinese car makers have begun to adopt our products, and I think this is a good example of how our market has grown.

 

You mentioned that you have a factory in China, how are you able to maintain the same quality of the products you produce in China at the same level as those made in Japan?

We have production bases in the United States, Germany, Czech Republic, China, Thailand and India. At each base, Japanese car makers wanted to expand locally and procure parts locally, so we, as a parts manufacturer, also expanded in the same way and produced parts with the same production quality in Japan. We have put in systems in order to supply our parts to Japanese car makers.

Currently, all production equipment, tools, materials, etc. are all exported from Japan, so that the same products in Japan can be produced and also Japanese quality can be maintained.

We do not produce in China because things are cheap, but we have the idea of producing in China what is needed in China. Therefore, we have expanded our overseas business with the idea that what is needed in the United States is produced in the United States and what is needed in Europe is produced in Europe. By doing so, we were able to accurately grasp the expectations and needs of local customers, and we were able to supply products with the best combination of quality and cost, and we will continue to do so. We believe this has helped localize production and build success.

 

It’s very interesting how you say bearings are an indispensable part and how in so many machines they cannot be replaced because we know that you have been able to serve a number of different sectors with the products you offer. Can you tell us more about the synergies you have been able to create between the line of products that you offer?

We have been promoting product development to accurately determine customer needs and issues and to solve them.  For example, there were problems with the product specifications that customers have used in the past but could not satisfy the functions and performance.

We have developed materials to solve these problems and have produced products that satisfy our customers.  There were various conditions and usages, such as those used in an underwater environment, an oil-in-oil environment, and in a high-temperature/low-temperature environments. Our product line-up has grown extensively because we've responded to all of them, one by one.

Some of them have been created from things that do not exist in the world and have been commercialized by engaging in research and development, and we have established a system that can respond to all the voices of our customers.  We believe that our strength lies in the ability to add value to our customers' products and provide technologies and products that satisfy our customers by solving their problems.

 

Your bearings are used for heavy industries such as iron steel works, incineration plants, and even construction. If we look at such industries we know that those in the US are spending a lot of money in order to comply with environmental legislation. Can you tell us how your bearings allow your customers, especially in heavy industries, to comply with environmental legislation?

Our bearings are self-lubricating. Bearings are indispensable for many moving parts of automobiles and mechanical equipment. For example, a large number of bearings are used in harsh environments such as front end loaders and excavators in heavy industry. It also contributes to load-bearing products and life-prolonging measures for maintenance. In the past, parts had to be replaced several times a year, but now some of our products do not require replacement for 10 years on average. This leads to reducing maintenance man-hours for customers and improving energy efficiency. Above all, we believe that our bearings also contribute to the prevention of environmental pollution.

In the past, when our oil-less bearings did not exist, bearings were used by injecting a large amount of grease and oil, which led to water pollution and environmental destruction. By using our oil-less bearings, that is, grease or oil is not necessary, water pollution can be prevented and environmentally friendly products can be provided.

For example, bearings in hydroelectric power plants have already been replaced by our bearings, and the frequency of maintenance can be extended from several times a year to a span of 10 years.

In addition, by using our bearings for the arm link part of the excavator, the amount of refuelling can be greatly reduced, and soil contamination due to oil leakage can be prevented. In automobiles, a lot of oil was injected into the hinge part of the door in the past, but by adopting our product, it is possible to reduce oil problems, and it has been confirmed that it can be used without maintenance for generally 10 to 20 years. 

In addition to the demands of our customers, we also keep an eye on the trends and demands of the times and continue to respond to them, such as products suitable for the environment and products that can reduce energy loss as much as possible. We believe that we are providing products with high social contribution to the world. There is a word called "ESG management", but we strongly feel that our management and business thinking has matched the times. Management that is conscious of environmental and social contributions becomes unprecedentedly strong. We would like to continue to move forward as a modern company should be.

                                           

Can you tell us what civil infrastructure projects you expect Japan to introduce and what role would Oiles play in this transformation that is occurring in Japan?

Prior to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, many buildings, bullet trains, highways, and other infrastructure were being developed. Nearly 60 years have passed since then, and it is time for all infrastructure to be maintained and reinforced. We have a "structural equipment" business that can meet the needs of earthquake and vibration control. This business was created by deriving our core technologies such as friction, wear, and lubrication, and establishing applied technologies.

Although world-famous, Japan has been hit by many earthquake disasters, but has risen many times. Considering what we can do and contribute to such social issues, we believe that we have supported the safety and security of Japan, an earthquake-prone country, based on the high technological capabilities and achievements we have cultivated in the bearing business.

Beyond the framework of "customers," we take pride as a pioneer company that has delivered safety and security to buildings and infrastructure equipment within the framework of Japan.

With the Tokyo Olympics coming up in 2020, Japan's national policy initially planned to proceed with the renovation work of the aging infrastructure mentioned earlier, but due to Covid-19, which has become a global problem, I feel that the measures are a little late. However, we have a product line-up that can respond at any time, and we are always preparing an approach so that we can propose repair and reinforcement work.

 

 

Can you tell us more about how you as a company are using your years of accumulated know-how and how you are exporting that knowledge to other countries such as those around the Pacific Ring?

 

We have made a great contribution to Japan as a pioneer in seismic isolation technology. We are steadily increasing the number of good track records by introducing and promoting the achievements and our reliable technical capabilities to other countries.

As an example, Korean schools have a good track record of adopting seismic devices via our agent. They wanted to carry out full seismic retrofitting.

 

Taiwan is also a country prone to earthquakes, and we have more than 20 instances where our seismic devices have already been adopted. We would like to continue increasing our success with seismic isolation devices and to install on low-rise apartments in Taiwan.

 

We are accumulating achievements mainly in the Asian region, but if there are any places where our technology and know-how can be diverted, we would like to solve natural disasters and social issues from the perspective of earthquake and vibration control.

 

If we look at the car industry though, we are seeing a huge transformation taking place as we switch to EVs, which is driven by the demands for reducing CO2 omissions. With this switch, new materials are needed and we are moving away from ferrous materials, such as metal and iron, to lighter and stronger materials such as magnesium, titanium and CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer). As a supplier to the automotive industry, can you tell us how are you adapting to this material revolution that is taking place?

 

Currently, the automobile industry is at a major turning point with the wave of EVs rushing in. Our parts are used in the steering wheel, door hinges, etc., but with the progress of automated driving and vehicle electrification, needs, requirements, quality, and performance required by customers are also changing. One example is the pursuit of smooth driving (smooth steering movement) and quietness. That is, since the engine noise is eliminated with the power being changed from engine to electricity, it is highly required to suppress the noise occurred from the road surface and the tires. It is necessary to consider how to block such noise and reduce the weight in order to improve fuel efficiency. We also have bearings other than metal, and we believe that plastic bearings can solve these issues. By using our parts, we would like to meet the needs and issues of our customers while absorbing the vibration from the road surface, softening the vibration and noise in the room, and incorporating new added value. We would like to overcome this revolutionary period of automobile industry with our customers by utilizing our technology, that is, by utilizing our products as indispensable parts.

 

Could you tell us more about what role Industry 4.0 is playing in your company’s development and how are you going to leverage it in your midterm strategy?

Bearings are used in various industries and products, and are functional components that are indispensable in many industries and markets. For example, even in the manufacturing industry like ours, the existence of robots is becoming familiar, as the production lines of factories have become robotized.

Since robots are articulated and have many moving parts, they also have rattling, so bearings are used to fill them. Our products such as thrust washers are adopted in those robots, and bearings are always used for moving parts. We believe that these changes in the environment and the trends of the times are a tailwind for us as well.

In addition, our production plant is also promoting the automation in production lines, and from that experience we are also conducting research and development to create what is needed in the world. Our company not only responds to changes in the environment, but also wants to properly return them to the world and work to contribute to society.

 

Could you tell us more about your R&D strategy and could you highlight for us any particular new products that you would like our readers to know about?

"SP5B" is one of our product series born from continuous development. Compared to other copper alloys, it can receive a larger load, which makes it possible to thin the copper alloy. In other words, by using this, we can save space, expand the design range of our customers, and expand the possibilities of doing things that we couldn't do before. That is, the space of the mechanical design can be optimized.

We released bearings using "biomass plastic" two years ago. It is refined from plants that can be regenerated by cultivation, rather than being derived from conventional petroleum (depleting resources). In addition, since plants absorb CO2 by photosynthesis during the growth process, it is possible to offset CO2 emissions and it was developed as an effective product for global warming countermeasures.

Another area of interest is offshore wind power generation, which is expected to be in demand in the future, but it is considered to be an attractive industry because it is composed of a large number of parts. Since it is used on or under water, environmentally friendly products are required that do not corrode under water. We would like to use our technology and know-how to provide products that match market needs.

 

We know your basic management policy is “to become a world leader as a general manufacturer of oil-less bearings and serve society through technology”.  Is there one sentence or a brief description that you could give us as to why you are the go-to partner for bearings, what is your competitive advantage when it comes to bearings?

By responding to customer needs and issues, we do not make the world's first and the world's best products, but our customers do.  Our bearings exist for our customers to achieve their goals.

Our bearings are "oil-less bearings". Since they do not require oil, our bearings are environmentally friendly products, and serve as indispensable parts for machinery and equipment. From its role as a functional part, they also meet economic rationality by reducing the amount of maintenance. Here is our way of thinking about the superiority of our products.

Our basic management policy is "to become a world leader as a general manufacturer of oil-less bearings and serve society through technology." Responding to the needs and issues of our customers in using our products as mentioned earlier, is based on this policy.  In order to continue to meet these customers’ needs, we have been conducting business activities by developing materials in the research and development department every day. As a result, many patents have also been applied for.

Since our market range is very niche, not only pursuing sales but becoming number one in that field will eventually lead to solving customers' problems and contributing to society.

 

We know as a company, you have a presence in the US, Germany, China and Thailand with your sales and production offices. Then in other countries you have a vast network of distribution. Could you tell us more about your international strategy? Which countries you are looking to penetrate further into?

We have overseas subsidiaries in the United States, Germany, Czech Republic, China, Thailand and India. It has been several years since we established a base in Brazil, and although Brazil's population size and market are very attractive, various issues have been found from the perspective of future business expansion, we think now we are in a situation to review our overseas strategy.

Currently, we believe that it is necessary to concentrate resources in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In other words, we believe that there are still many things that we can be involved in and dig up further potential demand, especially in areas where we have already expanded. While concentrating on them, we might shift our focus to Brazil again, or to effectively launch strategies while accurately grasping the current times and market environment, such as the undeveloped African market.

 

You mentioned that Japanese companies are said to be facing the technical shrinking challenge. We see that Japanese companies provide high quality products or components, but then the machines last longer, say ten to twenty years more. So basically one product serves one application and doesn’t need replacing. What are you doing to cope with this situation?

It is something inevitable, it happens. For example, our seismic isolation and damping devices are installed on bridges and buildings, but once installed, they will continue to be used for about 50 years, so basically once they are delivered, we are done. As for automobile parts, it is the same situation, once they are delivered, we are done. However, in public hydroelectric power generation, there is maintenance demand so there are some cases that must be dealt with in several year units.  The idea is that if you deliver something with good quality and performance, you will lose orders after that, but if you do not provide something with good quality and performance, you will lose the trust of your customers. That will make it impossible to achieve the purpose that the customer wants to achieve. This is contrary to our basic management policy that we want to realize through social contribution, and we do not think it is necessarily a negative problem considering what we should be and what we want to be.

 

I have one last question for you. It’s a bit more personal to get to know you and your personal ambition. If we were to come back let’s say in three years from now and have this interview all over again, what would you like to tell us, what are your goals for your company, what achievements would you have met for your company?

In most of our businesses, the delivery and sales will be recorded about 3 or 5 years later, for the projects we are currently operating or promoting. For example, in the case of automobile parts, the ones that are currently under consideration and development are the models five years from now. Therefore, those whose sales will be recorded a year later, 2 years later or 3 years later have already been decided to be adopted, and we are waiting for the start of production. In other words, it is in a state of introducing mass production equipment and building a production system.

 

Therefore, for 3 or 5 years from now will be decided by what you can do now (currently) and what you have done for these 3 or 5 years. Therefore, when we are asked about the results 3 years from now, I can tell you about our products adopted in the model of the car model several years from now, but we cannot tell you that sales will be doubled in three years. We are dealing with businesses that must always take concrete steps and promotions for the future. It can be said that in our business environment, the future is easy to predict to a certain extent.  This is why what I have to do now is to properly grasp the business environment and management resources of the company, so we can select and concentrate on future business. Therefore, I think it is our role to promote the appropriate investments and allocation of management resources.  Of course, it goes without saying, that it is premised on solving customer needs and issues and thereby contributing to society.

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