Family expertise a vital component in the art of manufacturing
Tsuneo Murata, president of Murata Manufacturing, poses with his company’s bicycle-riding robot, Murata Boy. Picture: REUTERS
EMPLOYEES of Murata Manufacturing say they are sometimes startled to discover that the quiet, down-to-earth man eating a $3 lunch alongside them in the office cafeteria is Tsuneo Murata, president of the Kyoto company founded by his charismatic father, Akira Murata.
The family-run parts maker, set up in 1944, is not a household name like, say, Sony. It has become big by making the tiny but crucial components hidden from view inside gadgets such as tablet computers and smartphones.
Perhaps its best-known inventions are some cute robots, such as bicycle-riding Murata Boy and unicycle-riding Murata Girl, developed to capture the imagination of the wider public and to hint at the sophistication of its products. The latest version is a pack of 10 small cheerleading robots that balance on balls to move around and dance. They were made for Murata Manufacturing’s 70th anniversary to help mark its move into components in areas such as cars and healthcare, led by Mr Murata.
Murata and Sony are emblematic of Japan’s postwar growth, expanding in line with the rise of transistor radios, TVs and personal computers. "We value technology and that’s how we aspire to contribute to society. That’s the philosophy that’s been passed on from Murata’s founding," Mr Murata says.
Seven decades later, it is the less well-known parts makers such as Murata, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and with a market capitalisation of $24bn, that remain leaders in their field. Sony and other Japanese consumer brands have ceded their position in music players, TVs and handsets to Apple and Samsung.
Murata components range from tiny, energy-storing ceramic capacitors to noise filters, sensors and chip coils. Murata is the world’s biggest supplier of such capacitors, with a 35% market share, and clients include Apple, Samsung, Sony and Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei.
"Whoever it is that is making the handsets, demand for our components continues to expand," says Mr Murata.
Speaking during a lull at an electronics show near Tokyo, Mr Murata is informal in a plain white shirt and no tie, although he reaches for a jacket as he sits down to talk. The youngest of three sons, he notes that he "didn’t have much of a choice" about exploring other jobs when he graduated from college. He followed his brothers into the business within a month of graduating. "Being the youngest, I was quite laid back. I didn’t feel so much pressure." Eventually, in 2007, he took over from his eldest brother, Yasutaka, who had been 16 years at the helm.
For nearly half a century, Mr Murata’s father transformed Murata Manufacturing from tiny start-up to a global company that now generates 90% of its sales overseas. His strategy was to create innovative products that no one else could copy easily.
As a young man Mr Murata, now 63, did not feel he was being groomed to head the company. He spent almost 15 years away from the headquarters, having been sent to New York, the Japanese
prefecture of Shimane, and to Germany. He was 55 when he took over from his brother. The third brother, Masayuki, left the company in 2000 to open an art museum in Kyoto.
Mr Murata’s experiences at a range of manufacturing sites gave him a good grasp of how the company operated at grassroots level, and helped prepare him for the top job. "It was important that I was able to experience the importance of monozukuri," he says, referring to the art of manufacturing. Mr Murata visits 20 or so plants globally every year and rarely misses the annual event where hundreds of Murata employees compete to put forward ideas on enhancing quality and production efficiency. While many Japanese manufacturers have shifted production overseas, Murata makes about 80% of its products in Japan.
Mr Murata says the company relies on fast decision making: "(Electronic components) is a market where the technology changes all the time. There is no need for people to check with the top whether this or that decision is okay or not." Timely decisions and action are crucial in the smartphone market in particular. Also, the fact that Murata cannot have long executive meetings to approve every decision made locally trains employees to think for themselves: "I want each of our employees to bring out the skills that they have."
At times, however, he says a vision from the top is called for. That is the case now, when the company is at a crossroads as it seeks to reduce its reliance on the smartphone components that generate about half its annual revenue of $8bn.
If I had a Steben Johnson fund for the adjacent possible it would include both ams sensor & Murata. NOt names you hear about so much, but executing very well...........
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