At the Board of Directors meeting following the 89th company shareholder’s meeting on June 23 of this year, I was officially appointed President and Representative Director. Together with Chairman Morishima, I intend to further expand upon our business activities.

On the 63rd anniversary of our company on October 1, 2009, we at Sasebo Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (SSK) established our “Corporate Vision,” while furthermore establishing our “The Guideposts for the Course of Actions” with a view to following this philosophy, as well as establishing a “Motto” that inspires the actions of our organization. (Please refer to our website for our “Corporate Vision.”

When suddenly faced with a problem, confused in their work, thinking of taking on a new challenge but not sure if it is in line with the company’s policies, when foreseeing a problem ahead in their social life, these are the times when our employees should consult the Corporate Vision, the Guidepost, and the Motto. These goals exist so that our employees can confirm that they are in line with the direction SSK and all its workers are taking before moving ahead. These three goals are on display in many locations throughout our Tokyo headquarters and Branch Offices, as well as the Sasebo Shipyard - where our manufacturing is based. Many departments even end their meetings by saying the Guidepost aloud.

Now, I would like to ask our company stakeholders to understand our “Efforts for Innovation,” which is a key factor of the above goals.

Today, 122 years after the establishment of our former incarnation - the Sasebo Chinjyufu naval base - and almost 65 years since we re-launched as a private company on October 1, 1946, we at SSK must protect and use the traditions we established over our long history. However, if we cling too strongly to our traditions only, we have no future. In order to preempt the needs of the changing times, we must further innovate and change the way we work, the content of our work, and our very souls.

I believe that leading these changes and innovations is my most important task, and I am making an appeal to all SSK persons to follow me.

Approximately three years ago, we started an activity we called “Henkaku-Juku”, or “Education Energizing Evolution” (E.E.E.) program, which is now in its third term. 20~30 junior to mid-level employees are enrolled at a time, participating in classroom and practical lessons taught by general manufacturing or production control outside specialists and company experienced employees. Through this, each individual drafts a plan for innovating work method and/or content, which - upon Management acknowledgement and approval - is put into practice.

Several effective plans for improvement are in the process of implementation, however we still have not achieved real “innovative change”. With the current turbulent world economy, and the severe world competition in the shipbuilding industry, each and every person at SSK must first “innovate the soul” and through that, boldly innovate work method and content. I recognize and fully wish to encourage this task at hand.

New shipbuilding is the core business of our company, and developing new ship types is essential to us. Last June, we established the “Next Generation Ship Planning Department” within the Marketing headquarters, through which we researched while visiting our clients, the creating and building of new ship types. We listened to the opinions of our many clients, we have come up with brand new concepts and are developing ships that will meet the needs of the next generation.

Regarding our naval ship and repair division, we must continue to fulfill our function as a shipyard serving the local navy base. Regarding our commercial ship repair business, we are working towards entering the overseas markets through cooperative ties with foreign ship repair yards. We are also developing a global strategy for the installation of BWTS (Ballast Water Treatment System), which will be required to be installed on all ships in the near future.

Regarding our machinery division, focusing on our main product - the marine diesel engine crankshaft - we intend to maximize the effectiveness of our capital investments, improve our business development speed, and strengthen our earning capacity by expanding our market.

To innovate the content of our work, our company is currently implementing one more measure - the “Business Development & Innovation dept.” The “Development Team” that was started eight years ago has developed and reorganized into the “Business Development & Innovation dept.”, and they are currently pursuing several promising projects, and are ready to make necessary investments. In order to focus on the development of new technologies, and the development and practice of new enterprises and business models, we must underscore the concept of “E & E” (energy and environment). Further, to find work that relates to this, we must join forces with like-minded partner companies, universities, and research institutions and put in intensive work in this project for realizing the innovation of our work content in the near future.

Yoshifumi Yushita
June 2011