COMPANY

Significance of Okura Industrial’s Existence

Senior Corporate AdviserKazunori Takahama

• Making people want to come back to this city

  The history of Okura Industrial began in July 1947, not long after the war, when Shikoku Housing Co., Ltd. was established in Takamatsu City. The founder, Masaji Matsuda, focused on the housing construction business, seeing it as an essential infrastructure in the process of post-war reconstruction. He established and guided the development of the business to protect the livelihoods of his staff members and their families, as well as to provide necessary housing to people who lost their homes in the war. The presence of employees engaged in manufacturing provided the foundation for this development. As the business grew, it employed more and more employees, directly leading to greater prosperity for the local community. This founding aspiration is also the origin of the Company’s basic policy of “Aim for corporate growth through business, keeping in mind our coexistence with society, so that we may continue to be a company that is trusted by society”.
  Recently, however, it is becoming extremely difficult to secure human resources. In addition to the declining birth rate, the increasing number of high school graduates progressing to university has meant that more young people are leaving the local region. This is also a major reason for the difficulty in securing human resources. As well as raising the level of pay and making our company a fulfilling place to work, we need to solve this problem by making this city a more attractive place, so that young people will want to come back here to work.
  Marugame has been ranked in first place in the Chugoku-Shikoku area and 19th place nationwide in the City Brand Ranking: Most Popular Cities to Live 2023 (NIKKEI BP Intelligence Group), evaluated by 22,000 businesspeople from across Japan. The city ranked highly for its gentle climate, few natural disasters, and ease of receiving nursing services.
  However, regardless of how comfortable a city is considered to live in, people will not want to return to it unless there is somewhere to work. To address this issue, The Marugame Chamber of Commerce and Industry has held “Marugame Kids’ Week” since 2018 to create opportunities for adults and children to spend holidays together. The third Monday in October each year is designated “Marugame Children’s Day”, a holiday for kindergarten, elementary and junior high school students. Adults are encouraged to take annual paid leaves as part of resources. In addition to the declining birth rate, the increasing number of high school graduates progressing to university has meant that more young people are leaving the local region. This is also a major reason for the difficulty in securing human resources. As well as raising the level of pay and making our company a fulfilling place to work, we need to solve this problem by making this city a more attractive place, so that young people will want to come back here to work. Marugame has been ranked in first place in the Chugoku-Shikoku area and 19th place nationwide in the City Brand Ranking: Most Popular Cities to Live 2023 (NIKKEI BP Intelligence Group), evaluated by 22,000 businesspeople from across Japan. The city ranked highly for its gentleclimate, few natural disasters, and ease of receiving nursing services.
  By making people aware of the good companies located in their own hometown from a young age, when they are considering higher education or employment, and even more so by making their parents aware, we aim to encourage them to return to Marugame and to work here. In this way, we hope to do what we can to make Marugame a better place to live and contribute to the community.

• Thoughts on the reduction of overall environmental burden

  Okura Industrial Group has also been working to solve social issues through business. As the problem of marine plastic pollution becomes increasingly manifest, there have been increasingly vocal calls to move away from plastics. However, we believe that plastic, with its high functionality, will remain a necessary material for society into the future. Therefore, Okura Industrial Group, which is involved in plastic processing, is also actively engaging in curbing its usage and reducing environmental burden.
  In the Plastic Film Business, we are working towards thinner films that retain the same functions. In recent years, we are also focusing on recycling initiatives. The agricultural mulch film that is used to cover the ridges in fields has to be recovered around twice each year. In the past, the recovered film was generally used as solid fuel or for thermal recycling, where it is burned and the heat energy is reused. However, China and Southeast Asia, which previously accepted recovered film, have banned the import of waste plastic, resulting in the accumulation of waste film inside Japan. Ecocalmulch, which was launched in 2021, is the first product to achieve the mechanical recycling of agricultural film by washing and pulverizing used agricultural film, converting it into pellets, and reusing it as the raw material for new mulch film. In addition to mechanical recycling, we are also pursuing research and development aimed at the commercialization of chemical recycling, where the Group’s products sold in the market are recovered and converted into the raw materials for naphtha and other chemicals, which can then be used to manufacture new products.
  Meanwhile, plastics have become widely popular materials that are impossible to replace. ECOWRAP™ food packaging film, which is used for fresh meat and seafood sold at supermarkets, features excellent barrier properties and can be used to extend shelf life through modified atmosphere packaging. In this way, we are also engaged in initiatives that extend food freshness, leading to less waste and lower CO₂ emissions overall.

• For the cyclical use of forestry resources

  We engage in material recycling for the timber used in the Building Materials Business, too. By using waste wood such as construction waste as the main raw material to manufacture our particle board products, we contribute to a recycling-oriented society by recycling materials to effectively use resources, while also helping to prevent global warming by curbing CO₂ emissions. Moreover, in view of the move in recent years to use Japan-grown timber and the expanding areas where wood is used, we have decided to enter the structural timber and laminated wood businesses through the cyclical use of forestry resources. Through these businesses, we will be able to contribute directly to decarbonization and carbon neutrality. We are making preparations to construct a new plant in the Harashimo Industrial Park in Takase-cho, Mitoyo City, together with the relocation of our precut plant, to manufacture structural timber using lumber produced in Kagawa and the Shikoku region. As cedar and Hinoki cypress trees get larger, their capacity to absorb CO₂ gradually diminishes. The volume of CO₂ absorbed can be increased by harvesting these larger trees to use as forestry resources and planting new ones.
  Additionally, replacing the older trees with new cedar and Hinoki cypress seedlings that produce less pollen will also help to mitigate hay fever, sometimes said to be the national affliction of Japan. By making maximum use of forestry resources from Kagawa and the Shikoku region, converting them to raw materials for structural timber, and reusing the recovered timber after these structures are demolished to manufacture particleboard, we aim for the cyclical use of forestry resources. We also believe that our preparations for the launch of this new business will enable us to contribute to promoting employment in the region.
  In this way, we hope to continue to pass on the DNA of Okura Industrial Group, which has consistently contributed to the community and society through business.