PECM Issue 16 2015 | Page 32

As a Japanese company we truly recognize that change is a good thing and for that reason all of our employees follow Kaizen theory. helping our customers to be more successful A roots. s world leaders in pneumatics and experts in factory automation we are proud of our Japanese In 1959, when we first started selling sintered metal industrial filters in Japan who would have predicted that just 56 years later we’d have 51 established subsidiaries around the world with sales offices in around 400 locations in 82 countries? Today, the SMC Corporation has around 17,500 full time employees, plus additional part time and full time contract workers, and has a standard product range of over 12,000 products in over 700,000 variant forms. Part of this success has been achieved by the constant re-investment of profits into product development and the recognition that we have to listen to the needs of our customers – not just to meet today’s manufacturing requirements but to satisfy their needs in the future. As a Japanese company we truly recognize that change is a good thing and for that reason all of our employees follow Kaizen theory. Also 32 PECM Issue 16 known as continuous improvement, Kaizen seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality. By adopting this approach throughout the world we also understand the benefits of lean manufacturing and lean programming in the working environment and have developed numerous products and services which are designed to improve quality, productivity and reduced manufacturing costs. At this year’s PPMA exhibition we will be promoting many new and improved products on our 222sq metre stand. From our rapidly growing electric actuator range, our state-of-theart components for process control applications and our specialty products developed to ensure operator safety, we hope that stand visitors will see that we’re more than just a pneumatics company. However, our overarching theme for the exhibition highlights our commitment to Continuous Improvement. So, we will be unveiling a sp ecially produced modular display highlighting the products we have developed which follow and meet 8 Pillars of Productive Maintenance. Starting from Pillar One – Autonomous Maintenance – visitors can follow the TPM journey and see how our products, software and support initiatives help our customers achieve tangible benefits for their businesses. What’s more, this display can subject to availability be reassembled at a customer’s site to highlight the benefits of Continuous Improvement to their employees and selected customers. For more information about SMC, our products and our Continuous Improvement activities please contact: [email protected]