The previous article I wrote in this column July last year was titled "An end to the deflationary decade, and the beginning of an inflationary trend... ", and tried to predict the year 2008 as one of turbulence.

The year 2008 certainly was one of turbulence, and that turbulence still exists, as we are midway through 2009. Things in the world economy are turbulent, but in completely different magnitude and manner.

Who would have predicted the demise of such world class giants ( at least in size ) as Lehman Brothers, Chrysler, General Motors, the squeeze of the world's biggest insurer group, AIG, the severe credit crunch, and the drastic business downturn worldwide that followed ?

U.S. Government took bold measures, both financial and economic, with a resolute will to put the economy back on track soon again, and E.U , China and Japan followed suit in this order, all putting in public money and budget roughly in the order of the equivalents of 70 trillion yen. China looks to be powerfully leading the recovery path, and other economies will hopefully recover, though with a different speed or degree.

We at SSK are determined to endure through the current severe business environments, and develop our business once again preparing for the good time to come back.

The followings are some of the strategies that we have worked out and are busy carrying out for that purpose:

1/ Unscathed so far from the financial and economic turbulence, we are putting our efforts and resources in continuing to improve our productivity, hence further strengthening our competitiveness in the international marketplace of shipbuilding and machinery manufacturing. We started off last year a company-wide program called " Henkaku-Juku " ( Education Energizing Evolution = E.E.E. ), by which we are prompting SSK's young and mid-life staff to develop aspirations and task consciousness and create the future of their own company, SSK, with their own hands and head and heart. We are actively sending our officers and workers to schools, seminars, and other learning opportunities both domestic and overseas. I hope that our people will come out again soon as a group of people with much wider perspective and knowledge in this globalized business arena. We are also going through a series of facility investments in order to improve the production efficiency and the welfare of our people and of our customers who do business with us at our worksites.

2/ We are going through the rearrangement of our business portfolio, shedding money-losing business areas and focusing on more hopeful areas. We have decided to give up the bridge construction business, but instead pour more resources into the more hopeful machinery manufacturing business.

3/ The shipbuilding and ship repairing are our main business areas, and in these sectors, we will add to our already strong menu some new items – new products – new ship types with high value added, like gas carriers and heavy cargo carriers, so that we may build and repair ships which emerging shipbuilders cannot easily build, and thereby retain a strong presence in the world ship business marketplace.

4/ With our Flag Motto,< Tradition and Evolution> always in mind, we are determined to pursue effective business based on our long tradition, say, ships and machinery, and yet create new business models mostly related to the area or E&E ( Energy and Environments ). Such new business would be nurtured by the combination of traditional technology and new “ breakthrough” thinking. For carrying out this important task, company-wide activities are being encouraged, with Business Development Office as the engine for the activities. I hope that this aspiration and the new move will bring out some perhaps small, yet interesting business in the near future.

Thank you for your support and cooperation.