The Japanese industrial robot market can be represented by two contrasting companies: Yasukawa Electric Corp and Fanuc Ltd. The former does business aggressively, and the latter, cautiously.

During the past decade, Yasukawa concentrated its efforts on expanding its market share, while Fanuc did business cautiously by attaching importance to a higher profit rate. In FY2002, Yasukawa outperformed Fanuc and Asea Brown Boveri AG (ABB), grabbing the top place in the world's corporate rankings of robot shipments. Yasukawa's new President Koji Toshima is responsible for the company's robot business. He recently has been promoted to the post from senior managing director.

Toshima is 62 years old, only two years younger than the 64-year-old former president and current chairman, Makoto Nakayama. Toshima said at a recent press conference that he will follow Nakayama's policy line and manage his company in collaboration with the chairman for a while. Toshima's remark may give the impression that his policy is conservative.

Becoming the No. 1 company in the global robot market

Yasukawa's competitors say the company's most notable attribute is its aggressive stance. "Toshima has been playing the key role in expanding Yasukawa's robot business," said an official of a rival company. "He also is promoting transformation of the 89-year-old heavy electric machinery company."

"The fact that Yasukawa appointed a reformist as its president could be the company's message that it will maintain its aggressive business policy from now on. It might have been better for us if Yasukawa had completely replaced its management team with a new one," said the official. For rival companies, Yasukawa appears to be a formidable competitor.

When he joined Yasukawa Electric in 1964, Toshima was in charge of the heavy electric machinery business, the core business of the company. After serving as a system designer and plant manager, he was transferred to the robot business division a decade ago. He said he became more nervous when he was assigned to the robot business division than when he was named as the company president.

What he had to do in the robot business division was to make the start-up business in the company grow into the company's mainstay business, as big as its heavy electric machinery business.

In the robot division, however, business partners, business customs and many other things were different from those of the heavy electric machinery division, for which he had worked for 30 years. In addition, the industrial robot market was flagging after the economic bubble collapsed.

Placed under enormous pressure from many sides, Toshima has set a target: To become the best robot production company in the world. "It was an absurdly bold goal for our company, which was small and inexperienced at that time," said Toshima.

"I think it would be enough for a heavy electric machinery company that handles only one type of part to be known to a limited number of people," he said. "However, if the company produces robots for popular use, it needs to become a brand-name company that is known to everyone. That is why I set the ambitious goal."

Toshima has established his strategy after answering many tough questions, such as in which field his company will become the best in the world, and what is the benefit for his company to become number one in the world.

To expand the company's share in the limited-size robot market, there was no choice but to grab shares from other companies. "We needed to do everything we could, even to discover customers' needs ahead of other companies, to grab their market shares. For this purpose, we collected a great deal of information from our client companies," said Toshima. "I have repeatedly instructed our personnel in charge of new product development and manufacturing to respond to all the demands requested from our sales team."

Going for a humanoid robot while its rivals shy away from trying

Yasukawa's policy to attach importance to sales and marketing has worked successfully in the robot market, where only technologies and machinery performance tended to attract attention. The company has steadily expanded its customer base by bringing into the market new, unique products, including a robot that rarely breaks down and causes hardly any trouble because its power source and wires for controlling it are embedded in the machine. The company also has marketed a robot designed for transporting liquid crystal glass.

Chairman Nakayama said at the press conference that his company is currently carrying out its mid-term management plan, which is scheduled to be completed at the end of March 2006. "To achieve this plan successfully, we need Toshima's ability and power," he said. According to a company source, Nakayama ordered Toshima to form a management team capable of carrying out the plan aggressively.

The first task he must tackle as president is to make the company more profitable. Although the company has put its robot business on a firm footing, and grabbed the largest share in the global market, the profit structure of the whole company remains weak and should be improved. The company aims to increase its pre-tax, consolidated-base profit rate from 1.8% for the business year that ended in March 2003 to 10% by the end of FY2005.

Asked about this issue, Toshima simply said that he will do his best. However, it is widely known that his rule of action is to make decisions and take actions quickly and to carry out his words. So expectations of his decisive and swift actions are growing among company officials and employees.

Recently, Toshima has taken an interest in humanoid robots. Rival companies are making cautious remarks on the development of such robots, taking into consideration similar attempts by automobile and electric machinery companies with whom they are trading. Toshima alone speaks openly of his intention to develop humanoid robots. In fact, his company has already launched experiments on such robots, including a model to support nurses in hospitals.

Critics in the industry have described him as "a bizarre-food eater who eats everything." Toshima argues that he wants to make all sorts of attempts because it is part of his personality. "But that is not the only reason why I want to try everything," he says. "Previously, there was an environment where companies specializing in one particular field were highly evaluated. Now, we have a new corporate culture where companies are in favor of changing themselves constantly. My mission is to convert this new culture into a tradition."

Toshima is a unique business leader who is likely to breathe new air into the conservative robot-production industry.

(Akihide Segawa, Staff Writer, Nikkei Business)