History
View by organization
We will introduce the history, topics, and future prospects
of the 29 departments at the head office and 10 branches nationwide as of fiscal year 2024.＊The names of corporations, foundations, incorporated associations, national university corporations, etc. have been omitted.
Kansai Branch Office
Location：17th Floor, Kamimura Nissei Building, 3-3-31 Miyahara, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
The Kansai Branch Office was established at the time of the company's founding, and it is a core base with a wide range of customers in the area, from private-sector manufacturing and research bases to universities and government offices. Since the introduction of the Regional Head Office system in October 2015, the company has become an important base covering half of Japan as the Nishinihon Regional Head Office, which oversees the Chugoku Branch Office and Kyushu Branch Office. In addition, it is still fulfilling its role as a base that can replace central functions in the BCP.
In March 2020, amid major changes in the way offices are run, the Nishinihon Regional Head Office was the first to implement a change in layout and a move to a free-address system. In November of the same year, the Matsuyama Office relocated its office due to an increase in staff, and in February 2021, the Takamatsu Office also implemented a layout change and introduced a free address system.
In April 2022, the Regional Head Office system was revised and the name was changed to the Kansai Branch Office, returning to the system in place before the Regional Head Office system.
In January 2023, the Himeji Service Station was closed with the aim of improving operational efficiency, and the Hyogo Office was integrated with it, and the office was relocated to Akashi City.
As of April 2024, the Kansai Branch Office is made up of six departments: Process Equipment Sect, Process Control Systems Sect, Beam Technology Systems Sect, Analytical Instruments Sect, Medical Instruments Sect, and Industrial Instruments Sect, and it provides community-based services through four office in Kyoto, Hyogo, Takamatsu, and Matsuyama. In addition, the number of employees has reached 93, including branch office staff, staff stationed at domestic sales departments, and temporary staff, and the office continues to develop as an important base.
The Kansai Branch Office underwent a layout change in March 2020 in order to resolve issues related to the aging of the work desks, the realization of a free address system, and a lack of office space due to an increase in personnel. The head office relocated in February 2020 and adopted a free address system, and this was a pioneering move for a branch office.
This was the first major renovation since moving to the current office in July 2005, and the work took three full days. With only two months from internal approval to preparation, we had to complete the project in a short period of time, so we held meetings with the contractor every day while we were busy with our daily work, and we worked as a team to gain the cooperation of the branch office staff by giving them advance explanations.
The issue was organizing and keeping the documents in order. As there were many documents accumulated over the years, we decided to keep only the documents that were used on a regular basis in the office in order to achieve a minimalist approach, and set a target of reducing the number of documents held in the office by 60%. With the cooperation of the branch office staff, we were able to achieve our goal by promoting a paperless approach.
The office environment has been improved, and the office has been transformed into a brighter and cleaner place than before, which has led to an increase in employee motivation. In addition, the introduction of a system of free seating has created an environment where people can interact openly across organizational boundaries, and has led to the promotion of new ways of working.
Kansai Branch Office after the layout change
The Kansai Branch Office is active in a wide area, providing services in the Kinki region, Shikoku, part of the Chugoku and Kyushu and the Hokuriku region. In case of the event of a natural disaster, we check the status of our customers and take action to contribute to the early recovery of the local area.
In the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on January 1, 2024, some of our customers' production facilities were shut down, and our Process Control Systems worked hard to restore them as quickly as possible. As a result, we received a letter of thanks from the customer for the restoration work, which was a great encouragement to the engineers who responded to the emergency on site. We will continue to strive to respond from the customer's perspective.
Although it is a nationwide phenomenon, the biggest event in the last 10 years has been the upheaval in the economic and social environment surrounding Kansai due to the soaring prices of energy and raw materials, etc., against the backdrop of the spread of the new coronavirus from 2020. The Kansai region is said to account for just under 20% of the national economy, and although there is still some uncertainty about the future, there are high expectations that the Kansai economy will continue to grow as preparations for the Osaka/Kansai Expo 2025 move forward. The number of foreign passengers using Kansai International Airport has recovered significantly since the easing of border measures in 2022, and the Kansai region is characterized by a high overall rate of visits due to the concentration of major tourist cities such as Osaka and Kyoto, and a recovery in inbound demand is expected.
The Kansai Branch Office has seen a recovery in performance since fiscal 2021, and sales revenue in fiscal 2023 was up 118% compared to fiscal 2020. We will continue to work proactively from the customer's perspective in collaboration with the Hitachi High-Tech Group, aiming for stable operation of the equipment and the development of value-proposal-type services.
