This time, we interviewed Mr. Kenji Tani, Representative Director of Strong Metal Co., Ltd.
*This article was published in March 2023.
"KATADORI" is named after the acronym for "Katarou ya DREAM (Let's talk about dreams)."
This is a student project where students from the Kurita Seminar (Small and Medium Enterprise Group) at Kwansei Gakuin University visit small and medium-sized enterprises in Osaka to interview business owners and write articles.
■ I want to make this a company that employees can be proud of!
A 10-minute walk after getting off at JR Kawachi-Kosaka Station.
If you walk away from the main street into a quiet residential area, you will see a shrine.
The Strong Metal office building is located in a sunny spot diagonally across from it.
Mr. Tani (the current president), whom we interviewed, is actually someone who cooperated with our seminar's research surveys last year and the year before.
Through our interactions during the survey, I caught a glimpse of his wonderful thoughts regarding his employees, and I really wanted to hear more, which led to this interview.
When I immediately asked about his thoughts on valuing his employees, I received the unexpected answer that "I don't intentionally value them."
He said that simply out of a pure desire to "make this a company that everyone working here can be proud of," he read many books, received opinions from various people, and wrote down the things he wanted to put into practice.
He mentioned that by gradually putting these into practice, his current stance of valuing employees was formed.
■ An environment where even a small town factory can hold its head high!
Mr. Tani, who aims to create a "company that employees can be proud of," says there was a time after graduating from university when he jumped from job to job, including at a famous company and a small, privately-owned restaurant.
While working in various places, he noticed that "people's reactions are completely different depending on the size of the company."
People seem to find value in images like "large-scale, famous, and stable," but is that really true? Mr. Tani, who has experienced both small and large companies, felt that "that is not the case."
This is because there are wonderful companies even if they are small, and conversely, there are companies that you wouldn't consider wonderful even if they are large.
Convinced that a company's value cannot be fully explained by its size, he began to want to make it a company where even in a small town factory, employees could proudly tell their families, "Mom, I work at such a great company."
■ Keep a strong core and accept advice!
With that background, he started building the company.
However, as you might expect, things didn't go well from the start.
He faced many situations where he wasn't recognized by those around him, with people saying things like, "How could you do that!" or "What are you doing!" but he maintained a stance of keeping a strong core and never giving up, while still listening carefully to what was said.
Then, he started to be praised more often by his father, the former president. During that time, a part-time staff member even told him with tears in her eyes, "My child recognized my work for the first time."
He was happy, saying, "I don't particularly seek anything in return from my employees, but words like these are genuinely pleasing."
It seems there are wonderful things Mr. Tani is working on, but he says, "I'll talk about them if asked, but I don't really talk about them myself."
So, if you are interested, please ask him directly.
Just talking to Mr. Tani will warm your heart.
The kind of president Mr. Tani aims to be is someone who can make the people he interacts with happy. "The company is small, but we are the best as a business partner.
I want to be that kind of company." Mr. Tani's strong gaze as he said that with a smile was impressive.
Strong Metal Co., Ltd.
(Head Office) 3-15-16 Arakawa, Higashiosaka City
TEL 06-6722-3207
Founded in 1947.
Manufactures stainless steel, iron, and brass hasp fittings, latch locks, etc.
Builds cooperative systems with press processing companies and mold manufacturing companies to complete everything from pressing to finishing in-house.
Responds to various customer needs.
■ MOOV,press vol.36 Article List
■ Published by
MOBIO (Manufacturing Business Center Osaka)
Osaka Business Development Agency, MOBIO Division
Published October 2022
■ Staff
Art Director
Yukiko Ueda (Youth Creative Design Studio Co., Ltd.)
Designer
Ayako Shimono (ichi design)
Copywriter
Mariko Tsujiuchi (Enpitsu)
Photography/Video Shooting/Editing
Susumu Takeuchi (SharpFocus Co., Ltd.)
Chiho Nakada (SharpFocus Co., Ltd.)
Yuji Hasegawa (LVRlab)
Yusuke Higuchi
Printing
Monna Sealing Printing Co., Ltd.
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