Director Interview: Nobuyuki Shudo

Please share your aspirations upon assuming the position of Director.

I have three aspirations. The first is to strive to be useful to our customers in the world in order to realize KIMOTO's goal of becoming a company that lasts for 100 years.
The second is to maintain an aggressive stance as a technology development company and contribute to sales and profits by staying close to our customers.
The third is to create a company where employees can enjoy their work and always have a smile on their faces.

Please tell us about your mission and the strategies to achieve it.

My mission is to pursue customer satisfaction and further accelerate technical proposals and product sales that leverage KIMOTO's strengths.

As a strategy to achieve this, I am considering making global proposals to automobile manufacturers and others. It is also important to deepen our understanding of technology trends and next-generation trends that strengthen KIMOTO's strengths, permeate them within the company, and utilize them in proposals to customers.

Do you have any beliefs about your work that you value?

My belief is to provide the best possible service with a 'customer first' approach. Additionally, due to my personality, I dislike giving up and like the phrase 'never give up,' so I value working positively.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

My strength is being patient and able to switch my mindset even if something unpleasant happens. Perhaps due to my athletic background, I have developed patience and a 'never give up' spirit, and I hate losing.

My weakness is that I can be too kind. There are naturally situations at work where I should be strict, but I tend to sugarcoat things. Having many years of field experience, I might hesitate to make harsh remarks because the feelings of the person on the receiving end cross my mind. However, I do believe that when the timing calls for it, I must speak strictly.

What is the most memorable experience in your work so far?

The launch of "Prosave Prosave™ " Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Film for Industrial Use which has become one of the pillars of our adhesive products. It was a difficult development that would normally have led us to give up, but we listened to our customers' requests and worked together with the Technology Headquarters to solve each problem one by one until we were able to complete the project.
When we succeeded in the development, we received praise from our customers saying, 'I'm really glad I asked KIMOTO.' That one word made me really happy. 'Prosave™' has now grown into one of KIMOTO's main products.

Do you have a vision for the future of KIMOTO?

There are several. One vision for the future is to double our current sales and become a 20-billion-yen scale company. Also, to be a company where each and every employee can enjoy their work and smiles are never lost. And to be a company that customers think of first when they are in trouble. I want to make it a company that can turn such dreams and ideals into reality.

※The above content is all from the time of the interview (June 2023).