News Room 2020

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2020 New Year’s Message

January 6, 2020

On behalf of UACJ’s management, it is my pleasure to wish each member and stakeholder of the UACJ Group a safe and happy New Year. I would also like to express my appreciation to those employees who spent time at work during the holidays.

UACJ is now entering its seventh year since its establishment in 2013. Now we can look forward to the ongoing shift back to aluminum beverage cans and containers as people around the world seek alternatives to plastic. Backed by that tailwind, members of the UACJ Group, particularly younger employees, initiated projects for promoting aluminum products last year. I hope they continue their efforts while keeping in mind our mission to maximize the possibilities of aluminum in ways that contribute to society and the environment.

Now that the New Year has begun, while reflecting on the previous year, I would like everyone to join together as a team and work to accomplish the following objectives in 2020.

  1. Keep our workplaces safe

    Last year, many natural disasters caused destruction around the world, including major hurricanes, typhoons and tropical storms in the United States, Thailand and Japan. At our workplaces in these countries, employees have been making steady efforts to prepare for such disasters as part of general measures to ensure safety and prevent accidents. I want everyone to continue working together to keep all of UACJ Group’s workplaces safe in the future.

  2. Help implement structural reforms and achieve the goals of our reform plan

    Regrettably, consolidated financial results worsened substantially in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019. In response, we launched a structural reform plan last year in September. Comprised of six main objectives, the plan is being carried out this year. Realizing the plan’s objectives and getting the Group’s performance back on track are now the biggest challenges for our management.

    To succeed, first we need to restore profitability. Accordingly, in our flat-rolled products business in Japan, we decided to close Nikko Works and shut down finished product processing facilities at Fukaya Works. Unfortunately, that involved reassigning some employees to other locations. I am very grateful for their cooperation, and I want to reassure all of our employees and stakeholders that management is committed to transforming the UACJ Group for the better through these structural reforms.

    Meanwhile, Fukui Works will start up integrated production of automotive body sheet and parts this year. Demand for aluminum body sheet is projected to increase substantially in Japan as domestic automakers shift to lighter-weight vehicles, so I would like everyone at Fukui Works to capitalize on this opportunity for growth.

    In the United States, Tri-Arrows Aluminum has been boosting production capacity of flat-rolled aluminum for can stock at its Logan Mill, and also began operating cold mill rolling facilities. Therefore, I want everyone at the company to fully utilize these new facilities to boost sales going forward.

    In Thailand, as part of our third phase of capital investment in UACJ (Thailand), new facilities were completed in 2019 and began operating at the end of the year. Now everyone there is working together to achieve targets for production output, sales volume and profits while maintaining an excellent safety record. I would like all employees in Thailand to reach our target of producing 320 thousand tons in 2020.

    In our automotive parts business, established last year, we initiated business partnerships in China and continued to install new manufacturing equipment in the U.S. In our extruded and precision-machined components business, we installed new aluminum extrusion equipment at Nagoya Works in Japan. I want everyone there to utilize the new equipment to push up sales while making the most of optimized and concentrated production. In addition, to tap growing demand for battery foil, particularly in China, we invested in aluminum foil manufacturing facilities in Guangdong and plan to start operations this year.

    Our structural reforms are not only about restructuring our businesses in these ways. We also intend to review and streamline our organizations, including our officer system, and proactively improve working conditions for employees. Therefore, I would like every organization in the UACJ Group to take stock of its operations for the purpose of making improvements from this year.

  3. Remake our corporate culture

    We need to transform our corporate culture in order to accelerate new initiatives. For that purpose, we have been reviewing our management philosophy since last year, and have almost completed a new version, which will be announced to everyone in the near future. The new management philosophy will reflect the ideas of enterprising and ambitious employees at group companies in every country where we operate, as well as the opinions of management, advice from experts, and the viewpoints of senior executives. I want this corporate philosophy to guide members of the Group whenever they are having trouble making decisions or starting out something new. Together, we can forge a corporate culture that guides our actions in accordance with The UACJ Way.

  4. Ensure strict compliance with laws and social norms

    Last year, we put systems in place for enforcing common internal rules throughout the entire UACJ Group. For example, we set up a group-wide internal reporting system and expanded it outside Japan, and established rules for managing information and data within the Group. In 2020, we need to make sure these rules are enforced and the systems are fully functioning. At the same time, we must continue strictly enforcing compliance with laws, customer requirements and our internal rules concerning occupational health and safety, environmental protection, and quality, which are all essential for us as a manufacturer.

  5. Maintain product quality that customers can depend on

    As a manufacturer, the UACJ Group must always ensure quality while paying close attention to what customers require. We must also contribute to maintaining the quality expected by customers in the aluminum industry as a member of the industry. Therefore, I want each workplace that has been taking steps to improve quality to continue last year’s initiative to automate quality-related data. I ask everyone to do what is necessary to prevent any delays in the progress of this initiative, and to make sure product recalls never happen.

  6. Help foster our human resources and organizations

    In 2019, we established a new manufacturing skills training center to provide facilities for passing down and improving technical capabilities throughout the entire UACJ Group. We took this initiative with the goal of becoming a group that maintains its competitiveness in manufacturing from the perspective of customers. We do not want to be a group that is unprofitable despite its reputation for leading R&D and manufacturing capabilities. Through technical training, I hope all employees involved in manufacturing will take pride in the products they make.

    I would also like each factory in the Group to independently identify the capabilities it wants to maintain and to develop so we can create a framework for passing down technical skills going forward.
    As an initiative for improving productivity and competitiveness in our workplaces, we launched a new workplace reform program to promote intensive learning and innovation. A number of departments have already started implementing measures independently, but we want all workplaces to become involved in the program.

  7. Cultivate the seeds of new products

    While renovating the R&D Center in Japan, we established the U-AI Laboratory as an open innovation space for generating new ideas through collaboration. We designed it to encourage people visiting the R&D Center to collaborate with us in research and development. While serving as a venue for joint development with customers, the U-AI Laboratory will work to create materials that our customers need. We have already held meetings with customers that visited about such joint development. I expect everyone at the lab to produce results quickly and work together with employees at our R&D centers in the United States and Thailand to generate synergist effects.

Management, me included, will work closely together to ensure that these objectives are accomplished while continuing to implementing the structural reforms. Indeed, 2020 will be a year to demonstrate our ability to get things done, including the reforms. The times ahead will be critical for the UACJ Group, so all of us will need to show resolve in our work, regardless of tough circumstances. I would like everyone to actively contribute to realizing our goals going forward. The UACJ Group was built up through the hard work of our predecessors, but now is the time to pave the way for growth to create a bright future for our younger employees. I would like each of you, whether you are a manager or employee, to take responsibility for implementing the structural reform plan and play an active part in your workplace as a team player.

Once again, I would like to wish a happy New Year to all members of the UACJ Group and our partners around the world. I sincerely hope that you and your families stay safe and healthy in 2020.

Miyuki Ishihara
Representative Director & President
UACJ Corporation