Basic Concept

The Nisshinbo Group aims to create new and original value in its products and contribute to the creation of an affluent society.

The Group strives deliver products and services that meet its customers’ demands for product performance and quality in a timely and stable manner, and gains the satisfaction and confidence of its customers with outstanding quality. The Nisshinbo Group works to create value for them.

Promotion System

In order to provide products and services that satisfy customers, the Nisshinbo Group's manufacturing and quality assurance department are promoting activities to improve quality and customer satisfaction required for each product. In order to achieve the “Continuously promote measures to improve customer satisfaction” in the Sustainability Promotion Plan, under a system in which the Director and the Chief of the Corporate Strategy Center of Nisshinbo Holdings, Inc. is in charge, the Quality Assurance Group of the Corporate Strategy Center manages targets and Key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Sustainability Promotion Plan and KPIs

Specific Initiatives of The Nisshinbo Group

Under the revised “Fifth Sustainability Promotion Plan,” the Nisshinbo Group is working to improve quality and customer satisfaction as Key Action Items. The Group is working to achieve the goals of ①The number of violations of the Product Liability Act “0” and ②Understanding and sharing the status of quality claims in each segment as targets and KPIs, while implementing the PDCA cycle.

In FY2022, in accordance with the “Fifth Sustainability Promotion Plan” before its revision, the Group sets the number of violations of the Product Liability Act “0” as KPIs and proceeded with activities to achieve the target while implementing the PDCA cycle.

Status of PL Law Violations and Claims

In FY2022, there were no cases of Product Liability (PL) Law violations in the entire Nisshinbo Group. Since the determination of claims and complaints varies depending on the industry and type of business, the Nissinbo Group checks the annual trends for each company within the Nisshinbo Group. None of the companies has seen a continuous increase in the number of complaints over the past three years, and all companies are on a decreasing trend.

Acquisition of Certification for Quality Assurance

As of September 2022, the Nisshinbo Group has acquired “ISO 9001” certification, a quality management system established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), for 43 companies and 52 organizations. In addition, to meet industry-specific requirements, 34 organizations in 31 companies have obtained certification under the “IATF 16949” automotive industry quality management system standard. The three companies that manufacture medical-related equipment have obtained “ISO 13485” certification, the international standard for medical device quality management systems.

Specific Activities of the Group Companies

TMD KAIZEN Award 2021

The winners of the TMD KAIZEN AWARD 2021 were announced at the TMD Global Management Team Meeting held on July 6, 2022. TMD is actively engaged in kaizen activities, and this time, 105 activities across 14 sites and divisions were subject to review. The Valencia team of TMD Friction Espana SL, based in Spain, which won the overall championship against stiff competition, also took the divisional prizes in two other categories.

The Valencia team worked to both reduce costs and improve quality through improvements in the finishing process. The team also implemented occupational health and safety kaizen activities by reviewing the workplace from the ground up. The Valencia team's kaizen activities also benefited from the knowledge gained by TMD Spain's engineers during their visit to the Tatebayashi Plant of Nisshinbo Brake Inc.

Quality Assurance and Kaizen Activities in the Precision Instruments Business Group

Nisshinbo Mechatronics Inc., Miai Machinery Plant, plays a central role in quality assurance meetings and kaizen activity presentations, including those at overseas sites, to share information on effective quality assurance measures and examples of improvements made in production processes.

In addition, the company believes that digitalization will play a driving role in future activities, and has organized a project team to promote digitalization across the Precision Instruments Business Group, including subsidiaries, led by the company, to develop and test digital tools produced in-house. In FY2022, the company developed an in-house AI image processing tool to detect worker errors in the assembly process of its molded products business. On the mass production lines where it has been applied, worker error, which worsened in the early stages of mass production, has been greatly reduced. The Digitalization Promotion Project Team is further promoting the use of digital technology in a wide range of fields to improve the efficiency of operations, accumulate data, and make the most of it for the entire business group.

Sending a Message that its Products are Made in Japan

When Tokyo Shirts Industry Co., Ltd. delivers its products, it puts a message addressed to the customer inside the packing case.

The message is, “JAPAN MADE: Made by us at our own sewing factory in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture.” The message is accompanied by a group photo of all employees at the factory to express its gratitude to its customers. In 2022, the introduction video of “Share Shirts,” a premium product using fine count yarn that is sold mainly on the e-commerce site, included a video with showing the sewing process with the message; “Share Shirts are made at our own custom-made shirt factory in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture. Please enjoy the shirts carefully made one by one by its craftsmen.”

The response from customers has been positive, with high praise for both the appearance and comfort of the shirts .