Leading flat knitting machine manufacturer
SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan changed its leadership at its annual
shareholders’ meeting, replacing its former president and company founder
Masahiro Shima with his son, former vice-president Mitsuhiro Shima.
Mitsuhiro succeeds Masahiro as president,
representative director and director of sales headquarters, while Masahiro
becomes chairman of the board of directors.
According to the company announcement, the
change in management is a strategic move by the company to further strengthen
and improve its management system.
SHIMA SEIKI was founded in 1962 and soon
became an industry pioneer with Masahiro’s invention, the fully automated glove
knitting machine and the fully automated seamless glove knitting machine.
The seamless glove became inspiration for
the eventual development of seam-free WHOLEGARMENT knitting technology for
which the company is now best known.
Meanwhile SHIMA SEIKI became an industry
leader through its continuous innovation and consistent renewal of benchmark
technology which more often than not has become the reference standard for the
industry.
The charismatic chairman is described by
many as “the Edison of (his hometown of) Wakayama,” referring to the inventor
of the light bulb who is also renowned for the number of patents he held.
Masahiro in fact owns patents in excess of 1,000.
Considered by many as a genius of mechanical
engineering as well as business management, the notion of filling his
proverbial shoes can certainly be quite overwhelming.
However at a press conference held for the
Japanese press, Mitsuhiro humbly stated, “I may not be up to par with the likes
of Thomas Edison or my father, but I do hold about 10 patents.”
Upon drawing laughter his expression turned
serious as he addressed possible skepticism in his role as president after so
many years of growing up in his father’s shadow.
“My father was a genius who founded the
company and every one—especially I—am aware of that. It was his company and he
did what he pleased, and he took the helm without looking back. Fortunately for
the rest of us he was competent enough to lead this company to success, but it
created within the company a passive culture that relies on a single leader to
issue commands. I wish to change that and nurture a company culture that
encourages individual creativity and exchange of ideas with a common goal to
make this organization succeed. That mechanism is already in place. SHIMA SEIKI
will continue as an innovation leader. From now, however, innovation refers not
only to discrete mechanical inventions, but to creative collaboration in both
hardware and software technology that yields synergistic benefits.”
Mitsuhiro Shima joined the company in 1987.
He became a director in 2002, and executive director in 2007. He has been in
charge of system development, machinery production, material purchasing and
corporate planning before becoming vice president in 2012.
The transition takes place during
financially favorable times, just as SHIMA SEIKI announced one of its best
fiscal years in its 55-year history, with record-setting figures posted in its
fiscal report as of 31st March, 2017. This includes a 25.9% increase in net sales, a 94.8%
increase in operating income, and a 121.6% increase in net profit over the
previous fiscal year. This despite exchange losses incurred due to a rise in
the value of the Yen during the course of the year.