Relationships with Local Communities and Global Society  Back Number (2011)

The Chatsworth Plant in the United States participates in a regional relief food drive each year for families needing welfare assistance. At the Chatsworth Plant, employees donated 3,912 pounds (approximately 1,780 kg) of nonperishable food.

Coordinators who led the food drive expressed their gratitude at the size of the donation, which was enough to fill the available food storage space.

Employee volunteers from the Zhuhai Plant perform a variety of community activities, such as donating relief supplies to elderly nursing facilities or to children in welfare facilities.

Visiting employees present moon cakes (Chinese sweets) and household goods to senior citizens and foster good relations through conversation. They also donate moon cakes, school supplies, and household goods to child welfare facilities, and engage in recreational activities like singing with the children.

The U.K.'s Lincoln Plant is engaged in a work experience program for students aged 16 to 18 as a local community-based activity and to help the younger generation understand our business and technology. The program lasts for two to six weeks, and after students complete training in health and safety issues, they study certain business processes in the plant as well as responsibilities in such areas as product quality, the environment, and the local community.

Through the program, students not only become interested in manufacturing, but learn about the importance of IT skills in manufacturing through extensive hands-on use of advanced machinery.

The Bang Pa-in Plant in Thailand has been working to help improve the facilities of elementary schools in the surrounding community. It rains frequently in Thailand, and schoolyards are often muddy and unusable, inconveniencing teachers and children. In response to an employee suggestion, we provided support to line part of the playground with concrete and bricks and install benches and other equipment. Now the children can use the schoolyard as soon as the rain stops, and it can be used for a variety of other purposes, such as parents' meetings.

The Hokkaido University Formula-SAE HOKKAIDO Team is an official organization of the university's engineering department, mainly run by students. As they aim to become world-class talent, the students learn manufacturing processes and such management team skills as schedule management and cost control through the design and manufacture of formula cars.

The Hamamatsu Plant recognizes the significance of these activities, and has donated funds and Minebea products to students participating in the Student Formula SAE Competition of Japan. In FY2010, the plant contributed rod end bearings.

The Karuizawa Plant promotes amateur sports by supporting curling. In pursuit of their desire to produce Olympic athletes from Nagano Prefecture, residents of the town of Miyota built a curling rink. Their dream was realized, and curling has become known nationwide. Today their NPO, Asama Highland Sports, acts as a European-style club through membership dues as well as donations from the Karuizawa Plant.

Curling is rooted in the local community and is a global sport, and the Karuizawa Plant will continue providing support.

Omori Plant employees participated in social contribution activities sponsored by JAM (the Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery, and Manufacturing Workers), an umbrella organization of labor unions. The activities involved tree planting in Omori Ward, at the Umi-no-Mori (Sea Forest) site on landfill inside a central breakwater located in the middle of Tokyo Bay, and planned to be the largest park in the Ward. Twenty-five people from Minebea and elsewhere participated in the tree-planting activities, which were held in November 2010.