E-Archive
VOL. 17 May ISSUE YEAR 2016
Cover Page
in Vol. 17 - May Issue - Year 2016
High Quality, High Stability, High Environmental Awareness
Mr. Hiroyuki Takeda, General Manager, Sinto Frohn Metal Abrasive (Qingdao) Co., Ltd.
Sinto Frohn Metal Abrasive (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. opening ceremony
Peter Beckmerhagen, CEO Frohn GmbH (left) and Atsushi Nagai, President of SINTOKOGIO, LTD. (right)
SFQ uses the same packing bag as FROHN in order to improve brand image
Qingdao Sinto Machinery Co., Ltd. (Shandong, China)
China manufacturing has been improved drastically in recent years. Concurrently, a great number of foreign manufacturers have started exploring Chinese markets and importing their technologies into China. MFN was offered the opportunity to interview Mr. Hiroyuki Takeda, General Manager of Sinto Frohn Metal Abrasive (Qingdao) Co., Ltd., and a newly established manufacturer of Cut Wire in China.
(?) MFN: First of all, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for this valuable opportunity. Now let's begin our interview. Please tell me about your company.
(!) H. T.: Sinto Frohn Metal Abrasive (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "SFQ"), has been established by FROHN (German manufacturer) (hereinafter "FROHN"), in September 2015. FROHN has more than 50 years of experience in manufacturing various Cut Wire and Carbide Forming Tools since its establishment in 1952. FROHN is especially well-known as a global brand of Conditioned Cut Wire; the product manufactured by the world's top technology and know-how are highly evaluated by global customers.
SFQ is located on the grounds of Qingdao Sinto Machinery Co., Ltd., one of the groups overseas company of Sintokogio, Ltd. (hereinafter "Sinto"), the Japanese company. Sinto has the world's top market share for manufacturing of foundry equipment and also has a long history of experience on surface treatment equipment i.e. shot blast/peening machine. To start a Cut Wire business at Qingdao, we have received cooperation in various ways including space offered from Sinto, as they have made a capital investment in FROHN. Since we know that FROHN's Cut Wire manufacturing skills and Sinto's knowledge & techniques relating to equipment can complement one another with synergistic effect, it only made sense that the joint establishment of SFQ was realized.
(?) MFN: What are the characteristics and strength of SFQ?
(!) H. T.: Our core product is a Conditioned Cut Wire. It is mainly used for shot peening of parts such as gears and springs, where a high degree of accuracy is required. If I were to sum up the characteristics and strengths of SFQ in one word, I would have to say quality. We imported our manufacturing equipment from Germany, our manufacturing skills follow FROHN, and the production staff are all trained by FROHN's expert staff. Based on these efforts, our production falls in line with the same conditions as Germany, not only in terms of equipment but also in terms of human resources. Therefore, we can provide our Chinese customers with all the essential elements and the highest level of German technology. Quality is everything to us; we strive through all our efforts and improvements to emulate, and exceed where possible, the same level of skill in production as FROHN Germany. Our customers are mainly in the automotive and aircraft industry sectors. We continue to work diligently on our products for the aircraft industry; we must supply the very best product which meets their demand due to the highly technical requirement for product specification. The demand for quality has been increased worldwide by the automotive sector recently as well. We expect that a more thorough quality control than ever before will be necessary to win the Cut Wire market in near future.
(?) MFN: I understood your strong interest in quality. What do you think the most important thing is?
(!) H. T.: Making the effort to supply the best possible product to the customer is our duty. In order to supply products which meet customer demand, we try to achieve the following three things:
First, we use a carefully selected high quality raw material. When SFQ purchases wire rod from the supplier, we do quality inspection and evaluate its quality individually in order to achieve production with raw material which satisfies us.
Second, we provide a product of stable shape and uniform size. We pay special attention to equipment control and material handling to keep our product running under optimal conditions.
Third, we supply an environmentally friendly product. Dust and fragments are removed during production so that it does not contaminate the customer's plant. Additionally, our product is manufactured to have the smallest consumption volume possible and this minimizes dust generation during customer use. It might not directly affect the quality of Cut Wire, but I believe that environmental awareness has been increased recently and consideration for the environment is required.
(?) MFN: I heard the request for environmental consideration from the Chinese government to the local manufacturer has been increased in China recently. What are your thoughts on this?
(!) H. T.: Environmental protection does not generate business interests; however, as part of our social responsibility and community contribution, I think this is an important issue we must take seriously.
As I said, SFQ has focused effort on providing environmentally friendly products since our establishment. This can be achieved by the screening process, which removes dust and fragments from the Cut Wire during production; the screening device is designed not to leak the collected dust and fragments. The dust and fragments are disposed of without any adverse effect on the environment. We have installed dust-collectors on all the dust-generating equipment, such as the Cut Wire conditioners, in order to not discharge dust generated upon manufacturing.
(?) MFN: In the end, please express your wish/goal for the future.
(!) H. T.: SFQ is a newborn company. Thus the most important task for us is to supply the best product possible to ensure the satisfaction of our Chinese customers. There are several things now under consideration for future plans; SFQ would like to supply products to customers worldwide through cooperation with FROHN and Sinto. SFQ is also considering a surface-finishing contact business where parts are received from and then returned to the customer upon completion. I would like to develop our business steadily one step at a time.
(!) MFN: Thank you very much for making time for this interview!
For Information:
Sinto Frohn Metal Abrasive (Qingdao) Co., Ltd.
55 Xindong Road, Jiulong, Jiaozhou, Qingdao
Shangdong 266319, China
Tel. +86.532.8182-7883
E-mail: htakeda_brator@yahoo.co.jp