Driven by the desire to help others.
A challenging spirit: 'how to do it,' not 'if it can be done.'
-
Audix Co., Ltd.
- Manufacturing and sales of streetlights with solar panels
Takeharu Hatakeyama
- Prefecture
- Shizuoka
- Business Activities
- Manufacturing and sales of streetlights with solar panels
- Company Name
- Audix Co., Ltd.
- Representative Name
- Takeharu Hatakeyama
- Location
-
〒417-0801
2301-1, Obuchi, Fuji-shi, Shizuoka, Japan
- Phone Number
- 0545-35-4888
- Website
Factory Stories
Source of the Challenging Spirit
My grandfather, Katsuzo, graduated from the former Tohoku University and was an engineer who researched and developed the Yagi-Uda antenna. After serving as a technical manager at a manufacturer, he became independent. Initially, he traded with a major electronics manufacturer that symbolized Japan's past, but the reality was tough.
"We were assembling antennas and record players, but due to a shortage of staff, our children helped with wiring and other tasks to make ends meet."
Seeing his father, Katsuzo, struggling so much, my father, Junichi, decided to not only assemble but also to manufacture parts in-house for business expansion. He self-studied die/mold making and ventured into press working. His deep drawing technology for aluminum was recognized, and he was entrusted with the production of MD and digital camera casings.
"The quality standards for appearance and precision were incredibly strict. In the world of press parts, where producing 10,000 pieces yields a good product rate exceeding 99%, even invisible scratches were inspected with a magnifying glass, and 20% were rejected."
Although it was a tough world, he bravely challenged processing methods he had no experience with and established his position as a metal processing manufacturer.
Business Transformation
Before the bubble burst, the business was thriving. Orders poured in one after another, the number of employees exceeded 300, and a factory was established in Malaysia. At one point, there were even talks of listing the company, and it grew into such a company.
However, my father, Junichi, always felt a sense of crisis.
"There is no future for subcontractors."
Manufacturers imposed high demands, and when he tried to negotiate price increases, he was rejected with the reason that they would produce in China.
He felt the limits of competing with China, which excelled in cost due to low labor costs, despite being superior in technology.
Every day involved 200 hours of overtime, being buried in a mountain of documents, and stamping seals with tears. To break free from this and survive as a manufacturer, he boldly changed the management policy.
"I had no sales prospects, but I wasn't afraid. Other business owners often told me, 'How can you do such a thing?'"
He completely refused work from major electronics manufacturers, consolidated factories, and steered the company towards a new stage.
Setting Sail as a Manufacturer
"From now on, it's solar."
My father, Junichi, must have had a hunch. Junichi, who was not afraid to challenge unprecedented things, appointed Koji as president. Koji was entrusted with launching a new business, betting the company's fate. They developed a product combining streetlights with solar panels, which was initially disastrous.
"How many watts for a streetlight? Where should we go for sales? How do we even design it?"
Audix, with its subcontractor mentality, had no experience in product development or sales. They looked up numbers in phone books for telemarketing and exhibited at trade shows, but results didn't come easily.
The turning point came six months after the exhibition when they were contacted by a government agency that showed interest. It was an offer to install their product on a tsunami evacuation tower. Customization was required, but they met all demands and delivered the product.
They ventured into a different industry than before, desperately continued to meet customer requests, and established their position as a manufacturer.
How to Deal with China
The trigger for the business transformation was the belief that they couldn't compete with China's low-cost manufacturing. However, now they are skillfully utilizing China's manufacturing.
"We utilize China. We buy inexpensive parts from them and combine them to make even better products in Japan."
If they hear about an exhibition in Shenzhen, they sometimes go for a day trip to inspect it. If there's a factory of interest, they immediately visit the site.
"We are often told 'it can't be done,' but we never give up. We instruct them on the processing methods and have them deliver what we intend."
They entrust manufacturing to China, while planning and design are done in Japan.
"Now, China can produce good quality products at low cost. However, is their customer service top-notch? I believe we still have the advantage in terms of a customer-centric approach, such as how to provide products to customers."
Currently, they are successfully collaborating with China in manufacturing.
Development of Model Cars
"Why don't we try making a car?"
This casual remark from my late father was the catalyst.
Although Audix had become a manufacturer of streetlights with solar panels, there was a desire to utilize the metal processing technology they had cultivated somewhere.
"I simply admire cool motorcycles. I thought, even if we can't make a real one, maybe we can make a model."
This model car is packed with Audix's dedication. The body is processed by deep drawing, not die-casting, and the engine room and gimmicks are intricately reproduced.
Development was not easy.
"Even after making prototypes, impossible things happened, like the body size and seat size not matching. The designers kept making excuses about lacking experience, and we made no progress at all."
There's no point if it's not cool. Among many cars, they chose the Mach 5 from Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo) and the Shooting Star. The reason for this choice is also unique.
"I had an admiration for heroes. The Mach 5 is popular not only in Japan but also in America, and I feel its charm hasn't faded even after 50 years."
The model car, filled with attention to detail, is a product that symbolizes Audix's technical capabilities.
The Joy of Manufacturing
"We don't have any technology to boast about. We're just a group of complete amateurs doing things through trial and error."
Audix's strength is not in being able to perform difficult processing or making astonishing inventions that don't exist in this world, but in creating things through ingenuity.
"I always tell our employees that Audix's technology must be one that stays close to the users. There are always people in the world who are in trouble. If we can help such people, I believe any product is fine."
The driving force is the desire to be useful to people.
"Even if something is good, it's meaningless if it can't be used. Our technology is about making it usable."
Just like Detective Columbo, if you observe the scene closely, you will always find something out of place. That's where the seeds of people's problems lie. It's not about whether it can be done or not. It's about thinking how it can be done. With that challenging spirit, I look forward to seeing what products Audix will develop next.
