Celebrating the 100th anniversary, KIRISHIMA SHUZO is aiming for higher quality, and creating rich-flavored shochu and food culture KIRISHIMA SHUZO was established in May 1916, and started the manufacturing of sweet potato shochu production. KIRISHIMA SHUZO is the top sales shochu company in Japan for the fourth straight years. We are aiming to improve the quality of products that provide reassurance for customers.
One of our management policies is "Aiming to be a company rooted in local communities and developing together with them." Through forestation in water-source areas, we protect the bounty of nature and things under these circumstances. cherish the gifts from the land.
As an international comprehensive food culture company, we will continue to evolve into a shochu distillery that further refines quality based on traditional skills and creates rich-flavored shochu and food culture that is integrated with cutting-edge systems to bring about the next 100 years.
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Introduction, Background and History-To Achieve Both Quality Improvement and Cost Reduction-
In 2013, the bottling division decided to adopt the systems in response to the promotion of company-wide cost reduction measures.
When struggling to select a vendor, we heard from a consulting firm that there was a packaged software called "mcframe" and that YOKOGAWA had a good reputation for engineering it which led me consulting with them. It was found that the system can be operated with minimal customization to, for example, parts related to the Liquor Tax Law in Japan, and we decided that this system could be introduced even within the period of six months until the operation was scheduled to commence. During system building, YOKOGAWA's veteran engineers, with their confidence and skills supported by their abundant experiences, led the site without wavering, making the system operate as per the extremely tight plan.
Introduction Effects -Young Employees Growing as Leaders by Actively Engaging in System Building-
With the introduction of this system, because the system can be used as quickly as possible, and because as the company grows in the future the people who use the system also need to grow together with the system, we have created a organization in which young employees are empowered to make decision on how to build the system.
As a result, those young employees grew remarkably as the next leaders who understood everything in the workplace, listened to the voices of the people involved one by one, and also had a perspective of managing the whole thing.
In order to further enhance the system, they have begun to learn to practice the concept of "thinking on their own and nurturing a better system, rather than acting in response to instructions. This is one of the greatest benefits.
As for the company-wide objective of cost reduction, the systematization of purchasing management of materials has enabled us to make fairly accurate annual forecasts and to conduct appropriate evaluation of purchasing prices.
The difference between the book and the actual inventory at the time of inventory check has also been greatly improved.
In response to a series of incidents of foreign matter contamination in the food industry, a number of cameras were introduced in the Manufacturing Division in advance. In the Bottling Division, we have introduced cameras to respond to customer inquiries. Therefore, we have built a system that not only records videos but also records the operating status of line machinery and equipment in parallel with images as an additional value.
It is useful for early investigation of the cause of errors and countermeasures by checking the condition of the production line exactly when an error has occurred.
Future Prospects -New Creativity for the Next 100 Years-
Since the production and cost management systems have been adopted, we are currently expanding the manufacturing execution system (MES) and the line management system to all the lines. We also intend to make further use of video management to strengthen quality assurance.
Both systems and people will continue to grow, aiming for an ideal form in which various systems that are still functioning in their respective divisions are linked and integrated together and with management directly connected to the site.
Company overview
| Company name | KIRISHIMA SHUZO Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Head office | Miyakonojo-shi, Miyazaki |
| Business description | Manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages/restaurant business |
| URL | https://www.kirishima-global.com/co/en/ |
Industries
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Food & Beverage
At Yokogawa, we understand that today’s food and beverage companies face unprecedented challenges in climate change, consumer demand, and increased global competitiveness. Overcoming these challenges will require innovative solutions that focus on key areas of production, asset management, and food safety and quality.