Challenge! International Business: Kodai Sangyo Co., Ltd. - Environmentally friendly cypress products from Fukushima to the world

July 2014

Kodai Sangyo Co., Ltd. handles a comprehensive range of household wooden products. Since its foundation in 1972, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany has made efforts for modernization of equipment and implementation of an IT system in line with the needs of the times and has worked to develop new products and cultivate the new market. ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany's major products include kitchen utensils, bathroom products, and self-assembly wooden racks. Major clients are large home-improvement stores, and it has engaged solely in domestic-trade.

However, the situation has dramatically changed since the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 2011. ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany's head office in Motomiya is only 55 kilometers from the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant. Fortunately all employees were safe but the factory suffered considerable damage, and commodity distribution was blocked, creating a situation where products could not be made for a while. Despite progress in recovery efforts, sales of the products in Western Japan declined sharply owing to harmful rumors, regardless of ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany's own measurements of the radiation dosage executed every morning since the Fukushima accident never having exceeded the standard level.

In order to recover stagnant sales and protect employment, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany decided to develop the overseas market. To begin with, it ran a booth at the New York International Gift Fair held in January 2012. That's where the representative director received assurance that ブラック ジャック 遊び方ypress products were received well in overseas markets. The natural antibacterial properties of cypress and the softer surface of ブラック ジャック 遊び方utting board which protects the sharpened edge of a knife became the big selling point. The performance of spraying water on ブラック ジャック 遊び方ypress wood shavings attracted many visitors to its booth who were allured by ブラック ジャック 遊び方omfortable aroma.

Since then, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany has continued to participate in various exhibitions. As for the above-mentioned New York International Gift Fair, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany made a presentation in August 2012 and January 2013 and participated in ブラック ジャック 遊び方hicago Home & Housewares Show in 2013 and 2014. The range of products to be marketed overseas includes kitchen utensils and bathroom products, of which cypress products are the main products, with ブラック ジャック 遊び方ypress cutting boards being ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany's leading products. ブラック ジャック 遊び方utting boards come in many different shapes and sizes made from different materials, and the needs are different according to ブラック ジャック 遊び方ountry. In Japan, the most common shape for cutting boards is rectangular. However, in the U.S., there are diverse demands for cutting boards, each suitable for different tasks; round ones for serving pizzas, round ones with a handle and a big tray-size board for hors d'oeuvre cheese and hams. You have to imagine ブラック ジャック 遊び方ase where the designs and the sizes of products fail to match ブラック ジャック 遊び方ustomers' needs owing to different cooking and eating habits. Fortunately, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany has a production system responding to individual needs and requirements regardless of how small the batch of orders, and believes it can offer an advantage over competing large-volume manufacturers overseas.

Wooden materials from the Hinoki cypress tree are familiar to Japanese. ブラック ジャック 遊び方ypress aroma balls are easily available. Not only do they serve as aromatic air freshener used on a daily basis, they also have a relaxing effect during bath time and at bedtime. However, the natural geographical distribution of cypress is limited to Japan (from Fukushima in the north to Yakushima Island in Kagoshima in the south) and Taiwan. Cypress isn't a well-known material for foreign people. As a matter of fact, these cypress products were faced with problems when they were first released overseas. They became cracked and warped when they were used abroad. The principal cause was ブラック ジャック 遊び方limate conditions being different from Japan. It turned out that the products suffered damage due to changes in moisture levels. To solve this problem, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany asked the Fukushima Technology Centre, a public test institute of the prefecture for its assistance. They developed a coating material that prevents cracks due to changes in moisture levels and succeeded in preventing further defects by applying ブラック ジャック 遊び方oating material on ブラック ジャック 遊び方ross-section surface of the shorter side of the board.

Since the 1990s, before the start of overseas development, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany has been implementing efforts to make effective use of timbers from forest thinning to make eco-friendly wooden products. In 2005, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany acquired a certification (see note) as proof of appropriate use of timbers which is harmless to the environment. This certification is only awarded to timbers that are produced in an environmentally responsible and economically sustainable manner, and bring benefits to local communities, and such timbers are allowed to bear the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification logo. ブラック ジャック 遊び方onsumers, by buying the products affixed with this FSC logo, can support the global forest preservation indirectly. We may not be able to see products that have acquired FSC certification in Japan yet. However, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ertification has already been highly valued overseas, and in getting the overseas development underway, it has become an important sales point for ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany's products.

One year after the exhibition, in February 2014, a 20-ft transport container full of products was exported to the U.S. across the Pacific. ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany continues to have lively discussions with the U.S. company to ensure increased supply of products by OEM and an increased product lineup for the future. According to business practices in Japan, products are normally delivered within two or three months after consultation with a client. However, in ブラック ジャック 遊び方ase of the foreign clients, a diverse range of issues, including contract conclusion and prototype making had to be thoroughly discussed, and it took almost a year for ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany to start delivering the products.

Actually, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ypress cutting boards have not been marketed domestically. The participation in the exhibition in Chicago led to an inquiry from the buyers from a Japanese firm, which then led to the decision to market the products that were intended for U.S. market in Japan this fall. Furthermore, in anticipation of deployment in the European market, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany is visiting the interior and design exhibition Maison et Objet in Paris and ブラック ジャック 遊び方onsumer goods trade fare Ambiente in Frankfurt.

With an eye to future acquisition of new markets and dissemination of ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany's cypress products in kitchens, living rooms and restaurants around the world, ブラック ジャック 遊び方ompany is continually striving to cultivate the overseas market.

Amane Kameda
JETRO Fukushima

Note: a certification system established by FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), an international non-profit organization which conducts activities in 80 countries throughout the world with a view to protecting forestry)

Kodai Sangyo Co., Ltd.