Corporate Officer Roundtable “YKK AP's Mid- to Long-term Strategy and Vision for Sustainable Growth”

A variety of risks are emerging, including climate change, aging populations, and material price hike. How do you view this situation?

First of all, with regard to materials, I feel that the recent political unrest has not only increased costs, but also threatened the supply of materials themselves. We need to convert to new materials, but this cannot be done overnight. We acknowledge that the divisions responsible for development and engineering will be required to start research and development as soon as possible. YKK AP has long been developing vinyl windows and promoting their use in order to decarbonize housing. While accelerating these efforts, we will also pursue improvements in aluminum, such as making it lighter and stronger. I believe that these improvements in our technological capabilities will give us the strength to adapt to change.

The development of new materials is something we definitely want to pursue in order to expand our business overseas. This is because population growth overseas, particularly in Asia, is expected to increase the need for mid-price range housing rather than luxury residences that have been the growing market. The key to meeting these needs is knowing how many new products and new businesses we can generate behind the scenes. Returning to risk, the Japanese domestic market is expected to cool down due to material price hike as well as an aging population and rising consumer costs. This means that we will not have enough customers to continue growing. To make up for this, we will have to change our target segments and incorporate new channels. I understand that this is an upcoming challenge for the Sales Division.

It will be important to take on the challenge of new materials, products, and segments, won't it?

Regarding overseas markets, it is essential to expand our business areas in order to achieve sustainable growth.

With the Japanese housing market expected to shrink, we believe it is necessary to develop products with an eye to both survival in Japan and overseas expansion.

In order to rapidly develop these kinds of new products and expand our business areas, it is essential to have a solid foundation of compliance and internal controls. The administrative divisions are proceeding with efforts to develop a business infrastructure by using IT to connect information from each business unit. In order to strengthen our new business overseas, we are also hurrying to take action aimed at risk management in preparation for a natural disaster.

YKK AP succeeded in introducing work-from-home at an early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was due to the fact that the head office functions were dispersed between Tokyo and Kurobe as part of the BCP, and preparations were underway to introduce work from home as part of work style reforms. What are your thoughts on the progress of work style reform from the perspective of the administrative divisions?

Actually, I believe that reform of work styles is just beginning. Particularly at manufacturing and installation sites, reforms have long way to go. As well as ongoing labor-saving efforts, we are also conducting research on smart factories, such as incorporating 5G technology to operate machines remotely.

The YKK Group is not only reforming its HR system, exemplified by the abolition of the mandatory retirement age, but also promoting diversity. What is your take on this?

Many women are also playing an active role in the Research and Development Division. All of our employees are talented, but their sensibilities and ways of thinking of course vary depending on their gender, age and other factors. I believe that this diversity is important for bringing new perspectives to research and development. There are not only life events such as marriage, childbirth, and nursing care, which are often brought up, but also various views on life and ways of living. I also believe that we need to further examine how we can support employees' plans for their lives.

Overseas, women are active as managers in engineering departments and plants/factories, so I would like to see more and more women from Japan go overseas and do the same.

The YKK Group hires regardless of age, nationality, or gender, so we do not give preference to women or foreign nationals. However, at this stage, the number of women needs to be increased if more of their opinions are to be reflected on site and in management. We will need to consider how to respond to this issue, including in terms of recruitment.

Could you tell us what kind of company you want YKK AP to be in 10 or 20 years?

I would like to see our company with a strong business foundation and a centralized data management system which would allow us to take actions with greater speed. For example, let's say we want to launch a new business overseas. Having easy access to information about restrictions and costs specific to a country or region will not only speed up the start-up process but will also greatly enhance our ability to expand our business.

In order to speed up overseas expansion going forward, we must have core technologies in Japan, identify the needs of each country and region, and develop products that meet those needs. Alongside digital technology, human resource development is also vital for achieving this.

I agree. I personally believe that we also need to take advantage of our research and development and manufacturing capabilities to expand our sales channels and add other components of houses besides windows and doors to our business domain. To this end, we will actively invest human resources in our overseas business. We would also like to increase the proportion of our overall sales generated overseas.

I think it is also good to gain experience of other departments. For example, if you are in research and development, you could experience sales and manufacturing for the first year or two. This would help you see what the front line sales representatives are struggling with and what demands customers have.

It is important for each of us to be able to see the business as a whole.

I think it is important to be number one not only in sales, but also in trust. That is, to be the company that people think, "Go to YKK AP, they'll take care of it." To that end, all employees need to be able to answer "we can offer this as YKK AP." In that sense, I think we have set out a very good Purpose here. If each one of us thinks about how we can help make the society a better place, we can become a company that can be relied upon.