Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd. was founded in 1946 by Keiji's grandfather as a sole proprietorship. His father later took over, and Keiji became the third-generation head.
Keiji studied casting in the engineering faculty at university and joined the company immediately after graduation.
"Since I was a science student, I decided in high school to go to the Faculty of Engineering, while my twin brother, being a humanities student, decided to go to the Faculty of Economics. Even then, I was thinking about taking over the company. My younger brother, two years my junior, went into mechanical engineering."

The three brothers pursued different fields and developed their respective strengths.
"When we were children, we always watched our father work. But my brothers and I had different interests. I was fascinated by how iron melts and wanted to understand it. My twin brother was interested in running the company, and my younger brother became interested in casting patterns."
The brothers have mastered their respective fields and are running Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd. while protecting their domains. This has created the strongest team in casting.

Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd. has chosen not to automate and maintains traditional manufacturing methods.
This has become Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd.'s strength.
"We only produce what is needed, when it is needed, which I believe is an advantage for our customers."
The ability to flexibly handle small-lot, high-mix production comes from designing and making all wooden patterns in-house.

Even if a defective product occurs, they can immediately correct it from the wooden pattern in-house.
Of course, they incorporate not only traditional methods but also the latest digital technologies. Among these, a distinctive feature is the introduction of a 3D printer that prints sand.
"Sand 3D printer molds can create more complex shapes than wooden patterns. At our company, we combine wooden patterns and 3D printers to produce highly accurate products."

The ability to flexibly handle the manufacturing of complex-shaped castings is one reason why Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd. is chosen. And there is another significant reason.
"Customers often tell us that our casting materials are excellent. People who machine them seem to really understand the difference in material quality."
The main materials for casting are pig iron and scrap. Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd. reportedly uses a high blending ratio of pig iron.

Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd. has maintained this ratio since the time of the founder's grandfather. Therefore, customers seeking this quality request their casting services.
"People inevitably make mistakes. However, the fundamental materials are something we can choose and guarantee ourselves. That's why we consistently maintain the quality of our materials without compromise."

Asai Chuzosho Co., Ltd. also manufactures and sells original products. One such product, "Nikuita," has garnered media attention.
Keiji once undertook product development for a wood-burning stove using the first manufacturing subsidy.
"Jumping straight into B2C is difficult, so it didn't have to be something everyone would buy. It didn't even have to sell well. I wanted it to be a product that showcased our company's technical capabilities."
Employees reportedly couldn't understand Keiji's idea of "it doesn't have to sell."

"The product we created was featured in newspapers. Seeing that, some customers inquired and started doing business with us. My strategy was successful, but the way I proceeded with the work was a failure."
Subsequently, one of the employees started solo camping, which led to further product development.
"He said he wanted to grill meat on a defective product weighing about 20 kg. So, I suggested we make it into a proper product. Learning from past failures, this time we launched a project and worked together with all employees to design and name it."
This is how "Nikuita," a product useful for camping, was born.

"I thought the first one we made didn't quite fit the solo camping vibe, so I showed the employees something else I had made."
It was a cast iron piece sliced like a loaf of bread into a plate shape. When they actually grilled meat on it, it was well-received for being less prone to burning.
"We knew it had good heat transfer, but the results were even better than we imagined."
When a casting cools, a hard layer called "chill" forms on its surface. This makes the product durable and less likely to break even if dropped.
However, Keiji intentionally utilized the part without chill. This resulted in the birth of "Nikuita," which has high thermal conductivity and good oil retention, making it less prone to burning.

"FCD material (spheroidal graphite cast iron) has carbon dispersed in spherical shapes, but FC material (flake graphite cast iron) has carbon in flake-like shapes, which, when viewed in 3D, are connected like rose petals."
This product was born precisely because of a thorough understanding of these casting properties.
As a result, "Nikuita" was selected as the Japan Foundry Engineering Society's 2023 Casting of the Year, as a casting product that maximizes the properties of cast iron.
It is a product recognized by professionals in the field for its concept of intentionally using FC material, which goes against current trends, to maximize performance for grilling meat, and for the technology to bring that concept to fruition.

"The casting industry isn't very popular, is it? Many people probably don't even know about it, or can't even read the word 'casting' (chuzo)."
Keiji expressed concern about the state of the casting industry in this way.
That's why he wants more people to know about it and preserve casting technology for the future.

"When I created our website over 20 years ago, I made a page introducing what casting is. Actually, that page gets the most traffic on our website."
To preserve casting technology, they started by raising awareness among many people.
And to make it an attractive industry, the entire industry needs to change.

"Casting products are often sold by weight. In that case, the more effort put into making lighter parts, the cheaper they become. While our company doesn't sell by weight, I believe that if the entire industry can receive fair compensation for its technology and processes, technical capabilities will improve further, and it will become a more rewarding job."
Keiji's original inspiration comes from the scene he was fascinated by as a child: iron melting and changing shape.
We hope that many "Alchemists of Casting" who are as fascinated by casting as Keiji will emerge and play active roles in society.