GREATER NAGOYA INITIATIVE e-Newsletter Issue No.39

GREATER NAGOYA INITIATIVE e-Newsletter Issue No.39 (August 2009)

Greater Nagoya Means Greater Business Opportunities

https://greaternagoya.org/

1. News: Next Generation Electric Vehicle, i-MiEV, by Mitsubishi Motors Debut

2. Environment: Electric-Assist Tricycle, The KAITEKI, by Mitsubishi Chemical Co, Ltd

3. GNI Incentives: GNI Business Start up Support Program for Overseas Companies

4. GNI Workshop: Real Opinions on Greater Nagoya

5. Industry: Starbucks Adopts “Kaizen” Mind of Toyota Production System

Culture: How about the Taste of Greater Nagoya, Nagoya Maru-hachi Dining?

Photo: i-MiEV at Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Okazaki Plant

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation’s electric vehicles, i-MiEV, developed in Mitsubishi’s technical center in Greater Nagoya region, had a grand debut on July 23rd. In this year (July ’09 – March ’10), the company decided to sell 1,400 cars in total because the production capacity of lithium ion batteries used in the EV cars is still limited.

In 2010, Mitsubishi plans to produce 6,000 vehicles (2,500 cars for corporate use, other 2,500 for individual customers, and 1,000 to outside of Japan) and by 2020, productions of electric vehicles will be 20 % of total production. If so, they will need to invest more in plants and equipments.

This zero-emissions vehicles emit only approximately 30% of the CO2 of gasoline-powered compact cars. In Greater Nagoya region, Aichi prefecture, Toyota-city, Chubu Electric Power Co., lnc also have bought this advanced electric vehicles for their daily use. The cost per kilometer to drive the i-MiEV is one third that of a comparable gasoline vehicle. Depending on the cost of electricity, energy cost per kilometer can drop as low as one ninth that of gasoline when charged during off-peak or night-time hours.

Photo: miniature i-MiEV

For example, “Grand Plan of EV-PHV Town Project” designed by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan will be implemented in municipalities in Greater Nagoya. Several private firms also use environmentally friendly cars to promote and to show their effort to reduce carbon emissions.

Even though i-MiEV is a compact car, strong acceleration is achieved through a highly efficient permanent magnet synchronous motor that generates high torque at a low speed.

One of their targets in the future will be to maintain infrastructures for the EV such as setting up more charging facilities on roads and in town. For the popularization of EV, it is especially important to increase the number of battery charging stations where people park, like shopping malls, restaurants, or convenience stores in town.

Mitsubishi Motors is teamed with all of 10 power companies in Japan to increase the number of charging facilities. Kenichiro Wada, the Team Leader of Engineering Planning Team, i-MiEV Business Management Office in Mitsubishi Motors Corporation says “With i-MiEV, we had people in driving trials because we believe that it is important to team up with many other sectors, companies or governments for the diffusion of electric vehicle and increase our partners.”

Motors Corporation Official Website: http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/special/ev/index.html

Photos: Electric-assist Tricycle,  The KAITEKI

The KAITEKI is an electric-assist tricycle made of products mainly created by Mitsubishi Chemical Co, Ltd such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic, light emitting diode, carbon-ceramic composite materials, polycarbonate resin material. The battery can be recharged via solar panels which built in an energy storage station box.

The company makes The KAITEKI to offer proposals to its clients how their products can be used in mobile objects. “Kaiteki,” which traditionally means “comfort” or “ease” in Japanese, was chosen for the tricycle’s name to represent how comfortable this transportation can be.

The KAITEKI image: 
https://greaternagoya.org/html_ja/?cls=ja_news_01&op=detail&pr_id=130

Chemical Co, Ltd: http://www.m-kagaku.co.jp/index_en.htm

Greater Nagoya Initiative offers incentive program for foreign-affiliated companies to start up the businesses when the companies plan to advance their businesses into the Greater Nagoya region.

1. Applicant

Foreign-affiliated companies who plan to launch in to the region with an investment ratio of 50% or more by the foreign firm can apply for the program.

2. Targeted expenses to cover

Costs for procedural requirements for establishing the company in the area; Consultation and expenses for specialists in company registration and visa applications, including legal advisors, judicial scrivener, certified public accountant, licensed tax accountant, administrative consultant, and public consultant on social and labor insurance, etc.

3. Total amount of incentives

The amount is targeted expenses of up to 500,000 JP Yen per company.

4. Procedure

Procedures are explained by GNI staff. Please contact Greater Nagoya Initiative Center [Address: invest@greaternagoya.org] before the procedures for company establishment are taken place.

Greater Nagoya Initiative Center conducted the 6th workshop in August 4th, and the theme this time was to enhance the cooperation between foreign-affiliated organizations and Greater Nagoya Initiative in Greater Nagoya region. Participants were people who are in charge of foreign direct investment in local governments in Greater Nagoya area. Guest speakers are Mr. Chris Zarodkiewicz, President of Interlink, Mr. Michael R Wright from Pratt & Whitney, and Mr. Josh Norris of JapanPower.com. Mr. Wright spoke to participants on the regional advantages of Greater Nagoya from his perspective, and Mr. Josh Norris, who launched his hotels in Japan recently, explained how the regional organization supported him to set up his business in Japan.

Michael R. Wright, MRJ PW1200G Program General Manager of Pratt & Whitney said one of the strong points of the Greater Nagoya is that infrastructure is well maintained so that it has easy access to get everywhere compared to Tokyo, and he also feels the region is family-friendly. He wants Greater Nagoya to have more confidence and international mind-set since the region will represent Mitsubishi Regional Jet soon.

Recently Starbucks adopted the Toyota Production System (TPS) to shorten their time to serve the coffees to the customers, according to the Wall Street Journal. TPS is a lean and effective production system, developed by Toyota Motor Corporation, and that is comprised of its management technique and practices.

The TPS was originally used in organizing manufacturing and logistics for the automobile manufacturer. The system has spread not only to the Greater Nagoya region, but also overseas now. Because the TPS is so well understood by people in Greater Nagoya, many of them also use the concept of the system in their private life such as their cooking procedures to get rid of inefficiency in every move. Its first quarter of FY2009 was more than 15 millions dollars in net profit compared 6.7 millions dollars in net loss in the same quarter of previous year.

When you visit Greater Nagoya and need to find somewhere to eat real Greater Nagoya local food around the center of Greater Nagoya, the new place called Nagoya Maru-hachi Dining can be your candidate. At Nagoya Maru-hachi Dining, where just opened in August 8th, five Nagoya representative local restaurants came together in one place. If you don’t have any idea where to get Nagoya food, go down to the Lucent Tower on the 1^st basement, for Nagoya Maru-hachi Dining.

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