Kikuchi Gear – Factory Tour
Kikuchi Gear is a well-established gear manufacturer based in the city of Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture. The company has 140 employees spread across their head office and six factories. Their products are used in leading-edge industrial products in the aerospace, automotive, construction machinery and printing sectors.
Corporate Information
- Company: Kikuchi Gear Inc.
- Foundation: 1940
- Location: Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of gears, gearboxes and gear pumps
Kikuchi Gear – Lean Characteristics
5S, Kaizen Suggestion Scheme
Kikuchi Gear is based in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture. The city is known as the City of 5S where over 200 factories and workplaces engage in 5S activities on a daily basis. This program is promoted by the Ashikaga Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Kikuchi Gear is one of the companies actively involved in the city’s 5S program.
The company produces a wide variety of high-quality gear products which are used in leading-edge industrial products in the aerospace, automotive, construction machinery and printing sectors. The quality products they need to produce in line with customer needs are achieved through their flexible production facilities.
Profit is key for any SME’s sustainability, and Kikuchi Gear recognizes that an organization of people with capability in kaizen will form a more resilient and stronger company to generate that profit. The visit to the company showcases Kikuchi Gear’s kaizen suggestion scheme as well as excellent examples of 5S. Kikuchi Gear are continually thinking about the future needs of society and their role within it.
The plant tour includes a presentation, a site tour and a Q&A session with senior managers.
During the Lean Japan Tour I came to the realization that improving an organization is not through large capital investments alone. We were completely surrounded by examples of minor investments into small improvements that produced significant savings. The clever use of visual management techniques gave a clear understanding of the current situation and Ben who…
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To do a lean learning tour with Shinka is definitely highly recommended. As lean is a personal journey for everyone who is involved in this topic, it doesn’t matter at which point of your journey you are in. At each level of personal experience there is a lot that you can take home with you.…
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Amazing experience, exceptional learning. If you want to learn about Lean go on this tour!
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First of all, I want to express my sincere gratitude for this unforgettable trip. From the beginning, the level of organization and attention to detail was outstanding. The program was well thought out, providing a perfect balance between plant visits, theoretical training, and practical experiences. It’s evident that a lot of thought and effort went…
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I must say thank you to the whole Shinka team – very grateful to meet you. The senseis and the Shinka team always cared about integrating us, teaching us and making us feel comfortable. The planning for the tour was brilliant. All my expectations were met. I saw TPS totally implemented, and it was amazing…
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Wonderful! I truly loved how we got a chance to see multiple tiers of the Toyota supply chain, and learned the true definition of some buzz words related to TPS. Getting a chance to see it all up-close was impactful.
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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
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