I went on a two-day, one-night trip to Fukui Prefecture to tour factories. My destination was Maeda Woodworks. It's a company that the company's president, Mr. Maeda, established 10 years ago. They are in the same business, mainly producing wooden lockers for nursery schools and projects for architects, but they were very welcoming and said, "Please feel free to come and tour the factory!" Even so, the weather is hard to believe it's November, and you can spend the day in short sleeves. I brought a down jacket because I thought Hokuriku = cold, but it was hot.
Maeda Woodworks has a workshop on the premises of a large lumber mill, so they receive materials from the neighboring mill and can simply hand over their recycling to the neighboring mill. I'm envious of that. Nakayoshi drives back and forth every week to throw away scraps.
One corner of the sawmill is now a workshop. The ceilings are high, which is nice. And at the back there is an office building. It's a skeleton design! It's cool. "It helps create a sense of unity within the company if you can see what's going on in the office," he said.
It's been a while since I last visited a factory. Until a few years ago, I used to visit factories all over the country from the perspective of a seller, so I didn't pay much attention to the machines, manufacturing methods, or scale of things, but now I realize that my perspective has changed.
Where do I store the materials? How much does it cost to transport them? How does the manufacturer of this machine use joints? All of this is from a manufacturing perspective. I can think of workshops that are similar in scale to my own factory, so Maeda Woodworks is a great reference for me.
It makes sense that there is a trimmer stand next to the NC router. It is also clear that they have experimented with the height of the stand, the casters, and other aspects to make it more convenient.
And what I really wanted to incorporate into my home is a software called Sketchapp, which uses 3D CAD to create interior proposals, furniture drawings, and even estimates. When I see this, I think it will be very smooth to make proposals for rental spaces or new kindergarten buildings.
The company's president, Mr. Maeda, studied furniture in Germany before starting up Maeda Mokkou, and many of the tools are German-made. The furniture is also put together in a sophisticated way, and it is surprising to see that most of the pre-assembly processes are completed with NC machines.
It's worth visiting because you can see the journey the company has taken and the efforts it has accumulated on site. At Maeda Woodworking, they can of course use hand tools such as chisels and planes. On top of that, they are thinking about how to make the process as smooth as possible with a small number of people. Not only do they use 3D CAD, as I mentioned earlier, but they also standardize everything, such as the lockers for the nursery school, so that it is really easy for the manufacturing side to make them. I am truly interested.
If you apply this to your own company, you want to deliver products to customers who have been waiting as quickly as possible. However, if you focus only on streamlining without compromising on quality, there is a danger that you may end up doing work that does not address customers, such as "why are we doing this work?" or "for whom are we making it?" If there is no clear direction or vision for the company, you will end up making products without any enthusiasm.
We cannot leave out the handmade aspects that Nakayoshi Library has cherished for the past 35 years, such as using high-quality materials that children can use with confidence and polishing every detail by hand.
However, by investing in internal operations and drawing creation up to the manufacturing process, the process before manufacturing can be made more streamlined and simpler. This will prevent mistakes in ordering parts.
It's about putting in the time and effort to create something that is both creative and streamlined. I have to clearly show the direction we should take going forward.
On the way home, I created my future plans.
Speaking of Fukui, it's Echizen crab! It's so big that its legs are sticking out of the picture. This is the first crab I've had this year. The seafood from the Sea of Japan is just as delicious as the seafood from the Pacific Ocean.
I was so busy trying to crack the crab's shell that I was practically silent as I dug around it.