Inauguration Message from Hiroshi Tomono, President & COO
Oct. 01, 2012
Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation
Inauguration Message from Hiroshi Tomono, President & COO
As Mr. Muneoka, Chairman & CEO, has just told you, now we are one company and ready to implement the four major initiatives to overcome the severe circumstances and various issues we now face. The four initiatives are: globalize, develop leading technologies, reduce costs, and strengthen engineering, chemicals, new materials and system solutions businesses so that we can become the Best Steelmaker in the World.
I would like to speak to you about the four principles of action in this new company.
The first is “Customer First.” Customer satisfaction is the foundation for our growth and our contribution to society. “We need your products. We need your services, not the others”: that is what we want to hear. Cost competitiveness and high-quality products and services alone are not enough. Communication and collaboration with our customers is the key. Our strategy is to strengthen our strengths and earn customer satisfaction by capitalizing on those strengths, to make us the most profitable company among our peers.
The second principle is: “Get the facts at the front line.” When I say “front line,” I mean not only the manufacturing line, but any place where things actually happen. Every workplace has its own front line. A treasure trove of facts is hidden there. Whether you dig up these facts or not is up to you. At the front line you can see, hear, touch, smell, or even taste the facts and find those treasures. The front line is the only place you can do this.
The third principle is: “Act to change.” To do so, we have to set goals, craft well-thought-out hypotheses, narrow them down to a viable plan, and do it quickly. Speed is the key. We want to make our customers say: “NSSMC is much quicker than Nippon Steel or Sumitomo Metals!”
Last, but certainly not least is: “Safety, Health, and Compliance.” Safety and health is the foundation of management and is our first priority. Always abide by safety rules. We can make up a loss or delay of production, but we can never make up the loss caused by injuries or death. We must stop our operations without hesitation if we need to do so for reasons of safety.
From today, you will start creating value with your new colleagues, in a new way of work. You will find it exciting but may be a bit nervous as there will be some things that are new or uncertain. Your colleagues may be feeling in the similar way. I ask you to be nice to others, take good care of yourself and your colleagues, and work in a cheerful constructive manner. Compliance is the basic precondition for us to exist. I ask everyone to exercise a high level of ethical behavior at all times.
Let me summarize. We have four principles: 1. Customer first, 2. Get the facts at the front line, 3. Act to change, 4. Safety, health, and compliance.
We are not Nippon Steel any more. We are not Sumitomo Metals any more. We are Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation. Let us all keep in mind our new slogan, the “Best for the New Company.”
A healthy and cooperative relationship between management and union is an indispensable asset for us. Union members: I ask for your support.
We have five businesses: steel, engineering, chemicals, new materials, and system solutions. We contribute to society through each of these five businesses. We have 84,000 colleagues and many supporting and subsidiaries companies in 17 countries around the world. Let us become the Best Steelmaker in the world together!
