Arai Kanagata aimed to break away from its reliance on automotive-related work.
They began to take on challenges in various industries. This proved successful, and they now meet a wide range of needs, including those from the pachinko industry and general goods, in addition to automotive-related work.
Furthermore, they acquire about six new clients annually, and over 90% of their current clients began doing business with them within the last eight years.

The decline in automotive-related work, which was once the core of the die/mold industry, may have been a natural progression of the times. And the flow of time also brought changes to the factory's operations themselves.
Tasks that were once manual became increasingly mechanized and digitized.
"I believe I was able to discern what to retain and what to change because I understand both the traditional artisan approach and the modern digital-driven approach."
Overcoming difficult times and shifting towards growth was likely due to their ability to flexibly embrace changes and boldly take on new challenges.

Arai Kanagata is increasing its new clients, yet they say they don't engage in sales activities.
"We receive consultations through connections within the manufacturing industry, so we make sure never to turn down work from clients who are in trouble."

New consultations brought to them are often cases that other companies have turned down as unmanageable.Arai Kanagata does not refuse even if the conditions regarding lead time, quality, or price are strict.
This has earned them a reputation that 'Arai Kanagata will find a way,' and this word-of-mouth serves as their best salesperson.
They then gain the trust of clients whose business started with urgent requests, leading to larger projects.
"It's like emergency treatment at a hospital. It's tough at first, but we consider it an advertising expense."

Arai Kanagata's focus is on providing what the customer needs.
What customers seek in a die/mold varies. It might be quality, lead time, or price.
"For example, we propose methods to reduce costs according to customer requests, providing the best solution that customers seek."

What thrives there is the know-how cultivated by serving multiple industries.
For instance, the pachinko industry demands low cost and short lead times. The automotive industry requires high durability. Different industries require different expertise. They apply the know-how gained from one industry to work in other industries.

"To improve quality, there's no other way than to accumulate experience and make continuous improvements."
By handling work across various industries, they accumulate diverse experiences and apply feedback, thereby improving their technical capabilities and quality.

"Our job is to make dies/molds. However, what customers truly need is to produce products using those dies/molds. A gap arises there."
Even if a die/mold is manufactured exactly as requested, problems can arise when resin is injected, such as poor filling balance leading to incorrect dimensions or low mass production efficiency.
To solve this, Arai Kanagata began performing mass production molding of plastic products in-house.

"I thought that if we put ourselves in the customer's shoes, our perspective on dies/molds would change."
This enabled them to manufacture dies/molds with the final product in mind.
"With the establishment of the molding division, we can now feed molding information back to the die/mold department."
Dies/molds requested by clients are tested by injecting resin, and any identifiable defects are resolved before delivery.

The manufacturing industry tends to face an aging workforce due to a lack of young recruits. However, at Arai Kanagata, employees in their 20s and 30s are actively contributing.
Arai Kanagata values creating an environment where young people can work comfortably. Renovating the factory was one such initiative. And they actively hire inexperienced individuals.
"Since it's a technical profession, teaching inexperienced individuals requires time and energy. But isn't it good if they can become proficient after a year of thorough training?"

When they first started increasing the number of young, inexperienced hires, they sometimes received complaints from clients about poor quality. At such times, Kojiuro reportedly told them, 'Look at us in 5 or 10 years.' And the young employees hired back then have grown into excellent technicians, earning the trust of clients.

He also stated that to make work appealing to young people, it's necessary to change the traditional artisan mindset. This was something Kojiuro felt from his own experience.
Even when he was motivated and eager to learn new things and take on challenges, he wasn't entrusted with difficult tasks when he was young.
"I believed I could definitely do it if taught, but I was only given simple tasks. While some traditional methods are necessary, I think there are also things that need to change."
At Arai Kanagata, even inexperienced individuals are encouraged to take on challenges. They gain a lot of experience, leading to rapid growth.

"By continuously responding to customer requests, we realized that our staff grew and our business stabilized. So, from now on, we will continue to help customers in need and bring their ideas to fruition, just as we have done."

These words reflect Kojiuro's stance. Even setting high goals for 10 years from now, the ideals might be too lofty and unrealistic. Employees would also find it difficult to visualize concrete outcomes.
Of course, hope and ideals are necessary, but Kojiuro tries to articulate goals within a short span of about two years. This allows employees to tangibly feel that these goals are achievable.

"If we clear one achievable goal each day, in two years, it will lead to a tremendous change, won't it?"
Achieving rapid policy changes or transformations requires significant energy. However, reaching a little further is something that can be done.
It is precisely that accumulation that brings about significant change.