Dicision of Capital Investment in the Automotive Anti-Vibration Rubber Business in Kyushu

(Photo)Oita Prefecture Governor Kiichiro Sato (right) and I exchanging a letter of intent

On August 23, a ceremony was held at the Oita Prefectural Government Office to announce the expansion of Sumitomo Riko Group's automotive anti-vibration rubber manufacturing and sales subsidiary, SumiRiko Kyushu Company Limited (Bungotakada City, Oita Prefecture, hereinafter referred to as SRK-K).
I explained the future of our anti-vibration rubber business in the Kyushu region to the Governor of Oita Prefecture, Mr. Kiichiro Sato, and the Mayor of Bungotakada City, Mr. Toshio Sasaki, together with SRK-K President Makino.

Reinforcing the Production System in the Kyushu Region

SRK-K is one of the Sumitomo Riko Group's main production bases in western Japan in the automobile anti-vibration business and manufactures and ships products mainly in Kyushu. The company was established in December 2007 (TRI Kyushu at that time) and has announced that it will expand its facilities in June 2021, making this the second expansion.
This project is part of the capital investment to achieve the management vision “2029 Sumitomo Riko Group Vision (2029V),” and the purpose of this investment is to strengthen the production system in response to the increase in orders from customers, requests for new orders, and rationalization of facilities and equipment.
Our group's vision for 2029 is to become “A leading solution provider taking on social challenges by aggregating the whole resources of Sumitomo Riko and its partners.”
In order to realize this vision, we have set forth three directions, which are “Developing people and peers who pioneer the future,” “Building a flexible and strong organization,” and “Creating value for a sustainable society.
Based on these directions, this capital investment is intended to contribute to the development of the next generation of human resources, the creation of new business opportunities, and ultimately the resolution of sustainable social issues.
We will also work to further accelerate our contribution to a sustainable society by rationalizing our facilities to reduce environmental impact and promote efficient production activities.
At the declaration ceremony, we spoke about the company's plans to introduce not only highly productive facilities but also carbon-neutral facilities and to practice manufacturing using the IoT.
The capital investment is scheduled to be completed in March 2026, and the company's annual sales are expected to exceed 10 billion yen as a result of the production expansion due to this capital investment, and it is also expected to appoint and hire more than 40 new employees.
Through this capital investment, we intend to develop new manufacturing methods, respond to customer needs more than ever, and expand our contribution to the local community.

Corporate management with close ties to the local community

Our group, based in Japan, operates in more than 20 countries, and we have continued our activities to this day with the understanding of the people of each region.
I believe that this is due to the efforts of our employees, not only in our business activities but also in contributing to local communities, and we would like to continue our efforts in both areas.
I would like to ask you, all the employees, to continue your efforts to create a comfortable workplace and to work together with the local community to co-create value in order to foster a corporate culture that leads to growth and job satisfaction.

A scene from the declaration ceremony