Greeting

We Design Tomorrow. We Design WORK-Style. -- It is a Mission Statement that only Itoki, as a company with its history of innovation, can make. It expresses our commitment to a future with think-out-of-box on mind, at a time when the paradigm of “WORK-Style" is undergoing radical change.

In addition to our experience as an office furniture manufacturer that our founder started, our company provides the world with new ways of working and office spaces through upstream office design and construction, as well as through the use of IT and the DX promotion (Digital Transformation). With my knowledge and experience in this area, I believe that we will be able to further expand our Mission Statement in a positive direction toward the future by skillfully combining the real and virtual.

Generally, a company’s mission tends to be a collection of words that is pleasing to the ear, but the challenging is how to take concrete actions to achieve the mission. At the core of our company is our DNA of pioneering spirit and cutting-edge technology that is as advanced as any forward-thinking IT company. One of our strengths is that we have embed this in our internal processes.

The pioneering spirit that is part of Itoki's DNA is rooted in our long history, which began in 1890 as Itoki Shoten. We have delivered many exciting products to the world.

For example, in 1903, we began importing and selling staplers for the first time in Japan. The product name was taken from the manufacturer‘s company name rather than the English “stapler“. In addition, we also imported fountain pens and thermos bottles that became a big hit. People who pick up these products say, "This company makes exciting products that no one has seen before. What comes next?” That is what we now call marketing and branding, and we are the company that has lived up to these expectations.

When I visit customers for sales, I always ask them, ``How many parts do you think are used in an ITOKI chair?'' Most of the answers are between 20 and 30 parts, and at most 100 parts, but our FLIP FLAP Chair, for example, uses 344 parts.

The higher the performance of a chair, the more functions and parts it has, and in particular, it is equipped with rotating mechanisms everywhere to allow it to follow your posture and body movements. Normally, the number of parts increases as the number of rotating mechanisms increases, but FLIP FLAP Chair uses unique technology to successfully reduce the number of parts. As a result, by using a special structure and material, we have realized a rotating mechanism in 10 locations with just one part.

In addition, the Kansai factory (Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture), which achieved zero emissions in fiscal 2006, ensures quality in each manufacturing process. For example, when a robot welds parts, a 360° camera photographs the parts after welding, AI is used to recognize and analyze the images, and the images are compared with samples. If it fails, the part is returned to the welding process. This includes advanced image recognition technology and automation mechanisms.

In addition, we are actively conducting various demonstration experiments through collaboration between industry, academia, and government. For example, in collaboration with major audio manufacturers and universities, we are working on research into systems that utilize technology and aim to lead to creative discussions using voice control and voice analysis using AI.

こうした様々な取組みですが、根幹となるのはその製品やサービスがお客様にとって安心安全であるということは言うまでもありません。新しいテクノロジーの活用と、安心安全という根幹とを両輪としてしっかり踏みながら、この先も挑戦を続けていきます。

As times change, the forms of companies and businesses change. Currently, we are working on moving from Office 1.0 to Office 2.0 and even 3.0.

The world of Office 1.0 is centered around the manufacture and sale of office furniture. The differentiators among competitors are product line and price, and this business format is prone to be price competition. Therefore, in the world of Office 2.0, we are increasing added value by providing office design, office construction, and work-style consulting for slightly more upstream processes. The world of Office 3.0 is a work-style reform driven by IT and DX promotion. Work-style reform improves employee performance and engagement, and we will use IT and DX to think about how to make the office more attractive and more productive. What is important here is to refine the value of the data that only ITOKI can provide through “data-driven management”, which carefully considers “What data can only ITOKI provide and what data only ITOKI has?”

This is not about us specializing in either 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0. By multiplying the three, we achieve our Mission Statement “We Design Tomorrow. We Design WORK-Style.” This will be our company’s strength, and we believe that we can further enhance Itoki’s value

My dream is to be the “world-class Itoki”. To achieve this, we will realize Office 3.0 in Japan, then based on that, we will aim for the world. In the virtual world, there are no borders. It is our belief that through the implementation of “We Design Tomorrow. We Design WORK-Style.” in a wider field, we can energize Japan, the world and the planet.