Daimatsu Co., Ltd., which designs and manufactures mechanical equipment, was founded in 1987 by Tomoya Hiramatsu's father.
It began when Tomoya's grandfather, who was a fisherman, used compensation money from land reclamation due to industrialization to build an ironworks.
"My father is the eighth of nine siblings. Perhaps my grandfather had foresight, thinking that fishing alone would not be sustainable in the future, so he had his seventh, eighth, and ninth children run an ironworks for parts processing."
While my father was working as a salesperson and craftsman at the ironworks, an acquaintance of his, who was in production engineering at our current main client, asked him to build specialized equipment for a production line.
"He said it was interesting to build machines through trial and error, even with failures. He mentioned that even with failures and personal responsibility, he felt a great sense of accomplishment and fulfillment."
Thus, his father became independent from his brother and started a company for the design and manufacturing of mechanical equipment.
"Initially, the company name was Omatsu Seikou. Perhaps he chose Omatsu from Hiramatsu with the desire to become a large company? However, when we did business with the US, Omatsu Seikou, being entirely in Kanji, was mistaken for a Chinese company. So, when we incorporated, we changed it to Katakana. We thought Katakana would clearly identify it as a Japanese company. It became 'Daimatsu' as the second chapter of Omatsu Seikou."

Tomoya says that what's remarkable about Daimatsu's employees is that they "don't just build exactly according to drawings."
This doesn't mean employees arbitrarily ignore drawings and proceed with work.
"For example, they might suggest, 'Since this part is used for this specific section of the machine, we can lower the precision to reduce costs,' or 'If we want to improve quality, this part should have higher precision.'"
They don't just work according to drawings; they can make proposals precisely because they are well-versed in machinery and understand its purpose.
Of course, not all employees can do this from the beginning.
They are creating a culture to train employees by passing on skills and knowledge.
As one such initiative, Tomoya created a personnel evaluation system.
"He said, 'We subdivided evaluation items into 589 categories, such as understanding dimensions from assembly drawings, drilling holes in flat plates from drawings, or being able to greet people.'"
This allows employees to clearly understand what they are being evaluated on and what they currently lack.
"Since I am not the founding president, I verbalized all the technical knowledge. I believe my experience at a systems company is useful here."

Tomoya recalls seeing on TV about 15 years ago that the skills of a turning craftsman in Ota Ward, Tokyo, were highly praised. It was said that they could detect a difference of 0.01mm by touch.
When he mentioned this to an employee in charge of turning within the company, he was told, "That's normal to be able to do," and "If you can't do that, you can't call yourself a turning craftsman."
"Our company's technology is not exceptionally superior compared to other companies in this region. Yet, they say that the kind of skills that amaze people on TV are normal here. This region, where technology has been refined at the heart of Toyota Motor Corporation, possesses even more incredible manufacturing technologies. And there must be places that seek these technologies."
Tomoya says he wants to promote Mikawa's manufacturing to a wider global audience.
"While I'm not yet sure what role Daimatsu can play in that, I hope to use what our company is doing as a role model and contribute to manufacturing in the Mikawa region."
Daimatsu's corporate philosophy is "A company where everyone can smile together."
"Together" means with customers, with employees, with partner companies, with the local community, and with fellow manufacturing professionals.
It is exciting to see what kind of third chapter Daimatsu, which is weaving its second chapter after Omatsu Seikou's first, will present together with the Mikawa region.