Fiscal 2022 Message to New Employees from President Miyuki Ishihara

Hello, everyone. Once again, we are live streaming our initiation ceremony for new employees who have joined the UACJ Group effective from April. I am very delighted to welcome each of you today.

An end to the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be approaching in 2021, but the number of infections rose sharply this year due to the highly infectious Omicron variant. I imagine that many of you confronted serious difficulties in your studies and daily lives over the past two years. Today, I would like to commend you for getting through such difficult times, and congratulate all of you for joining the UACJ Group.

The past two years have also been very challenging for the UACJ Group, as its operations were greatly impacted by the global pandemic. Nevertheless, while giving top priority to preventing infections, the Group was able to overcome those challenges and continue doing business thanks to the efforts of all employees, who understand that our products are essential for industries and people’s livelihoods around the world.

Based on the Group’s corporate philosophy, in 2021 we formulated UACJ Vision 2030 to provide a clear roadmap for realizing the kind of enterprise we want the UACJ Group to become by 2030. As a first step towards realizing this vision, we launched our third mid-term management plan in April 2021. One of the major policies of this plan is to promote sustainability. By supplying high-quality aluminum products that help reduce environmental impacts because they are lightweight, durable, and easy to recycle, the Group aspires to contribute to a brighter future for generations to come. The environmental problems and many other issues facing the world today should not be left for tomorrow.

The first topic I would like to discuss with you is our corporate philosophy, which we redefined in 2020. It is comprised of three components: Our Purpose, Our Vision, and Our Values. Our Purpose is to “contribute to society by using raw materials to manufacture products that enhance prosperity and sustainability.” Our Vision is stated as follows: “Aluminum is our passion. It inspires our work in building a better world and a healthier environment.” Our Values are “respect and understand your associates,” “embrace honesty and foresight,” and “be curious and challenging.” To put this philosophy into practice, we created the UACJ Way as a set of basic guidelines for all of the Group’s members. I hope you will grow and thrive in the future by always keeping in mind the three values of the UACJ Way. Whenever you are unsure about a decision to make or are starting something new when working here, I hope you will look to the UACJ Way for guidance and proceed according to the values are applicable. I will talk about each of these three values in more detail.

The first value of the UACJ Way is to respect and understand your associates. The workplaces where you will be assigned from now are made up of diverse groups of people who have a wide range of backgrounds and standpoints. We promote diversity and inclusion to encourage our diverse members to accept each other’s outlooks and individuality, and to foster each employee’s personal growth and strengthen our organizations. By engaging with your colleagues in this way, I hope all of you become well-rounded people by broadening your viewpoints and activities.

The second value is to embrace honesty and foresight. The UACJ Group has been able to earn the trust of customers by manufacturing products in an honest manner. That was possible because our predecessors were very sincere about meeting customers’ expectations for quality, delivery times, and costs by working closely with each other across company divisions, whether R&D, manufacturing, or sales. To manufacture products in an honest manner, we believe it is essential to take actions based on five basic principles: understand how our factories operate, know our products inside and out, recognize how everything actually works, act rationally, and make decisions based on established rules. Accordingly, I want you to be sincere when dealing with people and our products, refine your skills and techniques, and make an effort to learn new things every day.

The active involvement of every employee is essential if we are to build a better world and enhance prosperity and sustainability going forward. Soon after joining your respective workplaces, I assume you will be busy carrying out your everyday work. From time to time, however, I would like you to take a step back and think about how you can contribute to the future of your community, and then take actions toward that goal.

The third value of the UACJ Way is to be curious and challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change are accelerating technological advancements and changes in people’s lifestyles. We can expect to see all kinds of new technologies, products, and services over the next decade. To effectively adapt to such changes, every employee will need to think clearly and find solutions by striving to go beyond conventional wisdom and past precedents, while always maintaining a sense of curiosity. Instead of just recycling old ideas, I want you to draw on your passion and ideas in your work so that we can expand the possibilities of aluminum products.

Last year, we created a set of UACJ Group Way awards, which include a president’s prize, to recognize related achievements throughout the Group. Our goal is to foster a corporate culture of commending each other’s successes and encouraging each other in times of failure.

Next, I would like to talk about safety and compliance, which are at the heart of the UACJ Way. Ensuring safety and compliance are fundamental approaches and principles of conduct for a manufacturer. I chose to discuss this topic now rather than from the outset because I want all of you to remember what I have to say.

Safety is so fundamental that people routinely convey it with a greeting in some countries. In Germany, for example, the word, glückauf, was originally used as a greeting by miners to express their desire to return safely from the mine. Similarly, members of the manufacturing industry in Japan often greet each other with the phrase, go-anzen ni, which literally means “stay safe.” At UACJ, too, employees greet each other with this phrase every day as a way of maintaining a shared awareness of safety. I would like all of you, as well, to wholeheartedly greet your co-workers this way in your respective workplaces, as it reflects our long-standing tradition of giving priority to safety in everything we do while taking responsibility for one’s own safety.

We recognize that compliance is a minimum requirement of any organization operating in society. Accordingly, we do our best to fully comply with laws concerning health and safety, the environment, and product quality. We also follow various rules, such as our own internal regulations and requirements specified by customers. As new employees, all of you should start learning these rules and make sure to follow them in the future.

All of you are members of a generation attuned to the need to solve broad issues, as you have witnessed global initiatives like the UN Sustainable Development Goals along with efforts to recognize diversity. You have also grown up with digital technologies as members of the digital native generation. Therefore, we have big expectations for you to contribute new ideas and value from a different standpoint from my generation. I hope you bring fresh possibilities to the UACJ Group with dynamic ideas that are not bound by past conventions.

From today, I want each of you to participate in the UACJ Group as a team player and strive to make the most of your individual abilities on the job. In the spirit of the Group’s slogan, “Aluminum lightens the world,” let’s work together to create outstanding aluminum products. All of us can help produce results by doing our utmost in our respective roles while working towards the same goals as a team.

I have explained a few principles that I hope you follow in the future, but I would like to conclude by asking you to take good care of your health and pay close attention to safety in your workplace in the years ahead. Keep in mind that maintaining good health and well-being is essential for all members of society. You have joined the Group during a global pandemic, so I hope you always remember the importance of health and safety from this day onward. I wish you great success in your careers as members of the UACJ Group and as working adults. Thank you.