SUPPLIER TO WORLDWID TOYOTA FACTORIES:

MAID IN JAPAN

高柳真
Makoto Takayanagi

FOREWORD

The world is facing the most servre economic crisis of my lifetime,as I write these words. Nevertheless,I have full confidence that my friend of more than thirty years,Makoto Takayanagi, and the company he founded, Trinc, will weather the storm. There are two logical reasons for my confidence. The first is that Trinc is organized and operated so econmoically that its breakeven point is an amazing 50 percent. The second reason is that Trinc's potential customers will be seeking ways to reduce operating costs.
　　Readers should look carefully for ideas to benefit their factories in one of two ways. If their manufacturing processes can benefit from his inventions, that have application in their enterprises aloso ahould be pursued.
　　It is no surprise to me that my friend's company has been so resoundingly successful,and his book presents so many valuable insights.Formore than two years,we shared an awesome responsibility for the design and installation of a computer system encompassing the entire Yamaha Motor manufacturing complex and those of its major suppliers.It wasthe very first computer system to wed Japanese Just-In-Time／JIT(lean manufacturing as it is called today) and the Toyota Kaizen(continuous improvement) practice with American resource planning.
　　My friend wa my tongue and my ears, having taken a crash course in English to be able to translate Yamaha manufacturing processes to me and interpret my advice in Japanese.None of the Accenture staff were adequate for the task of translation,let alone the project team guide the system's successful implementation.
　　The range of his experience is fabulous.He had designed and installed the Yamaha automated service warehouse and its computer system prior to the much broader manufacturing system progject. He became the president and inventor in a startup business producing a portable facsimile machine, then founded a company that designed products for major international companies, and ultimately became the producer of the best industrial ionizers in the world.
　　Our business bond,inwhich I was the Accenture consultant and was the client project manager,was far less important to me than the bond of two friends on opposite sides of the vast Pacific Ocean.How many friends would travel 350 miles,round trip,to spend a few short hours with you when you visited Tokyo?How many would host you during another visit to Japan during the plum blossom festival,despite the pressures of mannaging a manufacturing company?How many would observe the Japanese custom of annual exchange of New Years letters,despite decades of separation?
　　My friend is a genius in engineering and business operation,but honors me as his teacher,one of thehighest tributes in Japan.
　　However,I agree with the film star who sang,"-if you become a teacher, by your pupils you'll be taught."I learned, first hand, of true friendship and loyalty, stronger in Japan than anywhere else,in my experience. I saw meaningful patriotism to country,community and company.
　　The lessons I learned from my decades of friendship were not limited to personal qualities; they also extended into the realm of business. My friend taught me invaluable lessons in enterpreneurship and even gave me a fundamental education in static electricity and ionization through my work on the production of this book.
　　It is my honor and my privilege to introduce you to my friend, Makoto Takayanagi.


Roy L.Harmon
Consultant to Accenture,retired.
Author;Four books onReinventing Factory,Warehouse and Business.
royharmon@askpcrescue.com




Takayanagi's business methods of containing cost should be the envy of not only
enterpreneus,but also any company striving to achieve his 50 percent breakeven point.
Tom Gelb,Senior VP Operations,retired,
Harley Davidson Inc.

When we at Toyota first saw the seience you invented in action we realized it was the
start of a new Kaizen era.
Yasushi Fuchigami,Plant Manager
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Russia
Harley Davidson Inc.

I have known Mr.Takayanagi since he invented a miniature fax. the struggles
of founding his own company, and finally I see the amazing success of his unique
ionizer products. This book and Mr.Takayanagi's sketches trace his company's history,
explaining complex static electricity science in such clear terms that everyone will
understand the impact in their factories.
Tsuneji Togami,Chairman of the board
Yamaha Motor Co.,Ltd.

I remember Mr.Takayanagi,president and founder of Trinc Corporation, talking
enthusiastically about anti-static techonology when I first met him. He is not Only an
enterpreneur but aloso a prominent inventor. I expect that his company's technology and
inventions will be an effective anti-static solution for every enterprise in the world.
Tesuya Okuyama,GeneralProject Manager
Small & Medium Enterprise Agency,Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry Japan