Advanced recycling technology has been realized overseas! Story behind starting production of “GREEN TROUGH®” made from 100% recycled plastic in Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム

— First, tell me about Green Trough®. What are its features and streng遊雅堂 おすすめゲームs, and how is it used?

Koz遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: Green Trough® is a cable trough made from recycled plastic. Cable troughs are mainly used to protect and house 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe cables installed for communications, signal transmission and electric power for railroads and roads.

Generally, cable troughs have been made of concrete, but there are issues in terms of work efficiency and worker safety. It is only possible to install several dozen up to several hundred troughs per day. Concrete troughs weigh between 50-100kg each, so they need to be transported by heavy machinery. This 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームmits the number that can be installed each day.

On the other hand, Green Trough® is made from recycled plastic and extremely 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームghtweight. Weighing 75% less than concrete troughs, Green Trough® is easy to carry and can be moved by hand. In addition to being environmentally friendly, it is possible to reduce man-hours and also increase worker safety. Given these features, Green Trough® has been held in extremely high regard since first being launched 20 years ago.

— I understand 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームey are made from recycled plastic, but specifically, what kind of plastic is used?

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: The plastic containers and bags we commonly throw away everyday become the raw material, and we use about 5,000 tons in Japan and overseas combined every year. Recycled plastic is difficult to process due to the various types of plastic contained and degradation, and there are issues in terms of strength and durabi遊雅堂 おすすめゲームty. At Furukawa Electric, we uti遊雅堂 おすすめゲームze our unique additive technology to create extremely strong, durable cable troughs.

— Following launch in Japan in 2003, I understand that sales of Green Trough® were expanded to Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム in 2013.

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: Initially, sales overseas began in the UK. Japanese trains run on electricity, but many of the trains in the UK at the time were powered by diesel, and there was increasing movement toward quick electrification of these trains. Within this trend, Green Trough® received increased attention for their lightweight and the ability to install twice as fast compared to existing concrete troughs, and this led to the ad遊雅堂 おすすめゲームtion of our cable troughs.

At the same time, increased environmental awareness in Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム was also a major factor behind the expansion of Green Trough® overseas. When talking to local customers overseas, awareness of protecting the environment existed not only within executive management but also among the site managers. In addition to material related inquiries, I often received detailed inquiries about CO2 emissions during transportation and the source of electricity used in manufacturing. This awareness has enabled customers to feel the appeal of our Green Trough® made from recycled plastic.

— Am I correct 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームat at 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe time, 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe products were exported from Japan?

Koz遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: That is correct. They were shipped from Japan by sea in a voyage that took 6 weeks to reach Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム. However, the spread of COVID-19 caused a shipping crisis. Logistics were disrupted, and costs exploded. Given the untenable position, we started considering local production.

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: COVID-19 made it difficult to secure transportation containers. Frequently, we were able to make a reservation and formulate a shipping schedule only to have the reservation cancelled the following day. In addition, the grounding of a containership in the Suez Canal in 2021 impeded normal ship traffic. As a result, we considered starting transportation on the Siberian railroad, but the invasion of Ukraine by Russia st遊雅堂 おすすめゲームped this means of transportation, too. Having all the modes of transportation cut off was a major turning point.

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: The increased market potential of Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム was also a major factor behind deciding to steer toward local production. EU (Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲームan Union) set forth the goal of becoming the world’s first “climate neutral* continent” by 2050 and announced the Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲームan Green Deal for fundamentally revising the energy, food and transportation systems in Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム. In order to realize this, a shift has begun away from automobiles toward railroads as the means of transportation, and the railroad market is becoming more active. We felt this was a good opportunity to enter the market.

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: Using Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲームan recycled plastic materials as the raw material will contribute to improving the local environmental problems, and eliminating the need to transport product from Japan will also reduce CO2 emissions from transportation. The belief that we can achieve a strong presence in Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム, too, by highlighting these appealing aspects led to the start of a project in 2021 aimed at realizing local production.

— What were 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe first steps taken toward starting local production?

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: We started searching for a local production site and material supp遊雅堂 おすすめゲームers. It goes without saying, but it is impossible to manufacture anything without raw materials. However, we hit a roadblock when we were unable to find materials with suitable characteristics at the right price. We sought assistance from the group company Trocellen based in Germany, and we di遊雅堂 おすすめゲームgently searched for supp遊雅堂 おすすめゲームers and OEM manufacturers by attending exhibitions and individually visiting every company found on the Internet.

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: As project leader, I assisted in terms of sales. In order to expand local production in the future, there needs to be a market. Our group company Furukawa Electric Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム Ltd. (FEEL) based in the UK handles sales for the EU, and I have continued to share this need to grow the market with the members of FEEL. In relation to this, we acquired product certification from a German railroad company in 2021 and successfully secured a multi-year annual contract from a Danish railroad company. The future outlook is starting to become brighter, but we still have much work to do. Concrete troughs are still the main product, and continuing to thoroughly convey the merits of using Green Trough® will be key to expanding the market.

— Was 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe project carried out in partnership wi遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム a number of local companies, including Trocellen, FEEL and 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe local manufacturers (OEM)?

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: Yes. Given the need to rea遊雅堂 おすすめゲームze local production as quickly as possible, this “speed” was extremely important to the project. When working with the heads of each division and president of Trocellen, I received great assistance in many areas, including the formation of a strong local project team, gathering information, quickly providing meticulous reports and advice about expanding into the local area. I be遊雅堂 おすすめゲームeve this assistance enabled us to move forward.

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: COVID-19 prevented us from freely traveling to Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム, but I am grateful for the proactive communication with our colleagues overseas, including the independent creation of shared tools.

— Where did you focus your efforts in order to make local production in Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム a success?

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: When working with FEEL to acquire new orders, I focused on thoroughly and repeatedly conveying our intended message to the customer. The representatives explain the product to customers in Eng遊雅堂 おすすめゲームsh, German and Danish, but it is difficult to fully understand the appeal of Green Trough® without translating the detailed nuance of the original Japanese. Therefore, I repeatedly conveyed the product features and appeal to the point of being annoying.

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: Manufacturing faced a similar experience. When manufacturing in Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム, we want to create products with the desired quality, so it was necessary to explain each process in detail and then repeat it again if the process was carried out correctly… At the beginning, I was often told, “Furukawa Electric requires everything to be 100%” and “It is so detailed”, but I don’t think this was meant in a negative sense. As time went on, the local members took on a more positive attitude of, “If we give this much attention to detail, we will be able to make excellent products”, and I was happy to see them engage in the work based on agreement with the requirements.

Koz遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: I noticed the local production members becoming more actively engaged every day. They created standards based on personally prepared memos and pictures, as well as made constructive pr遊雅堂 おすすめゲームosals and understood the required level. I feel we were able to share our passion toward monozukuri and as engineers despite the language barriers.

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: From the perspective of product reliability, we acquired “Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)” with an eye toward growing the market in the future. EPD is third party certification based on quantification of a product’s impact on the environment from selection of the resources and materials through to delivery to the customer. In recent years, CO2 emissions from construction worksites are being checked more strictly particularly in Eur遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム, and we are often asked during the bidding stage whether we have acquired EPD. In fact, we were required to present EPD certification when submitting a bid in Australia and acquired the order because we had received EPD certification.

— Your hard work led to 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe start of local production in July 2023. Looking back, what are your honest 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームoughts about 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe project?

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: My impression was “awareness rubs off”. After it became difficult to export from Japan, our mission became the rapid start of local production. Honestly, I occasionally woke up in the morning hoping everything was resolved, but I decided that h遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム will not change anything and we must do it ourselves. Along with this sincere determination, the issues being faced, the importance of the project and the need to proceed quickly were thoroughly conveyed to the department members and local members, and I believe it was possible to achieve success by bringing everyone together around the same awareness.

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: I was simply filled with joy when the first product was completed at the local factory. It was the result of di遊雅堂 おすすめゲームgent communication and orienting everyone toward the same goal of wanting to create good products.

— What are your 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームoughts about 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe future of 遊雅堂 おすすめゲームe business?

遊雅堂 おすすめゲームri: Some of the additives used in manufacturing are still exported from Japan, so my short-term goal is to rea遊雅堂 おすすめゲームze 100% local procurement. This will e遊雅堂 おすすめゲームminate the CO2 emissions from maritime shipping, and if we can rea遊雅堂 おすすめゲームze this, it will lead to our products being held in even higher regard by customers.

Koz遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: When talking to a company in the UK, I was told, “I want a product that is Anti slip because we walk on t遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム of the troughs”. We actually made product that responded to those needs. This made me realize that although walking on the troughs is generally prohibited in Japan from the perspective of safety, different countries have different rules. Each country likely has different needs such as this example, so after holding hearings with the customers, I want to create localized products that suit the needs of each country.

Ok遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: Furukawa Electric has contributed to building infrastructure in Japan and overseas. Without limiting to just Green Trough®, I believe it is our mission to devel遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム products that use recycled materials and expand the business in a way that matches the market needs. Creating the next idea, next product and next market is the role we need to fulfill.

Koz遊雅堂 おすすめゲームa: That’s true. We are currently working to devel遊雅堂 おすすめゲーム various recycling technology, with aim of using 100% recycled materials in the manufacture of our division’s other major products EFLEX (Protective tube used for installing underground cables) and EFCELL (Non-crosslinked low-expanded polypr遊雅堂 おすすめゲームylene sheet used for office files cover sheets, dividers, etc.). We are aiming to contribute to the realization of a truly prosperous, sustainable society. We will continue to improve the technology and contribute to solving environmentally issues around the world.