“There is a Lot of Possibility for Screen Printing in India”: Ken Emori, General Manager, Nittoku Mesh Division

31 October 2024: Ken Emori, General Manager, Nittoku Mesh Division, who is the NextGen of Tetsuro Emori, President, Nippon Tokushu Fabric Inc. (Nittoku), Japan, Shares Perspectives on his Role and Responsibilities. 

When did you decide to join Nittoku?
I decided to join Nittoku when I was studying at the university, around 8 years ago. Actually, I imagined I was going to be in Nittoku at a very young age, but the moment when I decided to join the company was during my academic studies at the university.

What was it like while growing up, watching your father ?
Before I joined Nittoku, I saw him as a father, just as a father. Growing up, I saw him as a businessman. I found a lot of great things about him, so I tried to be like him; better than him. He’s so enthusiastic to spread screen printing and screen mesh all over the world and I want to be part of that project.

What was your selected course when you were studying in university ?
My major was science and semiconductor manufacturing. So, I studied about thematerial, which is used as a conductor such as silicon, diamond and gallium. And afterthat, I joined a company, which was not into screen printing; it was about software for marketing. And after that, I joined Nittoku.

When you joined the company, getting to understand how it operates across the globe, what did you feel through each day passing ?
Everything was totally different. Seeing Nittoku from outside, I felt Nittoku is a kind company, like everyone is so kind, and everyone takes care of me a lot. But when I joined Nittoku, I realised they are also quite strict in order to produce good products. And it’s a totally different feeling. I felt that the screen printing mesh quality comes from that strictness.

Your father is like your mentor, what is the difference between interacting with him at home and in the office ?
Actually, in the office, I don’t think he is my father. I just feel he is my boss. He corrects my mistakes and guides me on the way to go forward. It is so helpful and I have to be like that to the employees also. So, I feel I have to learna lot.

Since you are younger, you have grown upwith social media, with technology, so what is that extra element that you bring to Nittoku ?
At Nittoku, the manufacturing mesh is handmade; actually, everything is by hand. There are a lot of people needed to make produce mesh. But I think with technology, it can be easier to make mesh and we can try to make even better mesh. So, I want to use some machine and AI to make a better product. But the essence is not changing. I think the essence will not change, because producing the best thing is our duty. So, it doesn’t change, but the way to make has to change a little bit.

What has been your experience about India so far ?
Previously, I had no idea about India, sometimes I used to see Bollywood movies. So, while I had no idea about India before this first-time visit, I felt that India is much better than my expectations. The local Indian food is good, people are so kind. I felt like I want to come here again and again. Also, I felt there is a lot of possibility for screen printing in India.

Creating and Controlling “Space” – Nittoku’s Weaving Technologies …
Nittoku, founded in 1954 as a habutae silk manufacturer, has enhanced its weaving technologies to higher levels over time and advanced from the apparel field into the non-apparel field. Today, it is evolving every day as an industrial textile fabric manufacturer that develops and creates a wide variety of mesh products using synthetic and metal/ carbon fiber. Controlling “Space” with micron accuracy, creating a variety of products with Nittoku’s precision technology. Nittoku’s core technology enables the weaving of “Space,” which are the openings created by warp and weft threads, as desired with micron accuracy from microns to centimeters in length and width. Our family of products created from this technology is widely used in different forms in a diverse range of fields, such as screen printing, precision manufacturing, and medical care.

Nippon Tokushu Fabric Inc.
Offering various kinds of printing mesh that meet a wide range of industrial needs – Screen printing mesh, which is the main product of Nittoku, has world class production volume and we confidently take this as proof that our products and its quality are recognized globally. A wide variety of products are available to meet a variety of industrial needs, such as printing mesh products for apparel products, ceramics, home electronics, IT devices and high-accuracy and high-grade screen mesh products to be used in the process of manufacturing electronic devices. Nittoku, which was founded in Katsuyama, a place with beautiful nature and tradition, has protected morals and put effort into manufacturing activities stubbornly and honestly based on wisdom, clemency, and delicacy as our corporate philosophy. While introducing advanced production equipment ahead of the times, we have been committed to improving the skills and building the characters of individual employees. Various visible and invisible elements like these have created today’s Nittoku quality. With the facilities, technologies, and a single mind, we hope to realise manufacturing at levels that cannot be achieved only with machinery, through harmonization between humans and machinery, as well as to contribute to creating new values for customers with our excellent product and quality strengths.

www.nt-jp.com