Vol.40

The view inside the factory is completely different today than it was when I joined the company in 2000.

Mr. Shibata, who joined the company in 2000, is the oldest employee, except for the president, Mr. Ikeuchi, and is the manager of the processing section. He is a living witness to the history of the company as it has changed from Ikeuchi Towel to IKEUCHI ORGANIC. We asked him to talk about the changes in IKEUCHI ORGANIC that he has seen from the inside as an employee.

Processing Section Manager Shibata

I have experienced various jobs related to towel production.

My name is Shibata, and I am the manager of the processing section at the Imabari Head Office Factory.

My main job is to “unravel” towels. After the towels are woven, they are checked again to make sure that they are not damaged and that there is nothing wrong with them.

I also make arrangements to send the unraveled towels to the dyeing factory, where IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels are basically dyed by INTERWORKS, so I coordinate the work and delivery schedule with the client.

Although I am currently in charge of the back-end process, I used to be in charge of purchasing organic cotton, which is the raw material for towels, and communicating with cooperating companies for yarn processing. Since I have been with the company for more than 20 years, I have indeed experienced a variety of jobs related to towel production.

Looking back, when I joined the company in 2000, Ikeuchi Towel was more of a towel handkerchief company than a towel company. The weaving machines in the factory were mainly for towel handkerchiefs, and we were engaged in consignment production for various famous brands. It may be hard to believe now, but we rarely manufactured towels such as bath towels and face towels.

Therefore, my main job when I joined the company was to make sample handkerchiefs to submit to customers. I had to prepare several color variations of a single pattern, and dozens of samples were needed for each color. I remember working at a dizzying pace because the production of towel handkerchiefs on consignment was uninterrupted throughout the year.

The view of the factory was totally different when I joined the company and now.

In the more than 20 years I worked for the company, I felt the change in the company most during the civil rehabilitation in 2003. I was really surprised when the president announced that the company would shift its focus from contract manufacturing to in-house original production as part of a fresh start.

At the time, our first original product, “ORGANIC 120” (as it was called at the time), was only produced once or twice a year. We rarely saw it being woven.

At the same time, I wondered if it would be really all right to stop producing handkerchiefs on consignment, which had been our main product until then. But even so, I am only an employee, so I have to follow the president’s policy. I also began to study organic cotton.

As we changed direction as a company, the ratio of original products gradually increased, and we went from being mainly a contract manufacturer to a company that manufactures its own brand.

Now, the yarns and woven toweling fabrics in our factories are all pure white. This is because the raw material, organic cotton, is pure white. Of course, there are color variations in the towels sold, but that is because the woven towel fabric is dyed at INTERWORKS.

In the days when towel handkerchiefs were made in large quantities, already dyed yarns were used, so the factory was lined with fabrics with various colors of yarns and patterns. It was also rare to send the woven fabrics to the dyeing factory. Knowing those days, I sometimes feel deeply impressed and wonder how things have changed so much.

Fulfilling one’s work one by one

I have been involved with various IKEUCHI ORGNANIC towels, but I personally have a strong attachment to “ORGANIC 120. After all, I have known it for a long time.

To be honest, I don’t have a strong attachment to towels, and the reason I started working for this company was because my parents happened to introduce me to it. It was not because I had a yearning to become a towel craftsman or because I saw potential in the future of Imabari towels.

I honestly came into the company knowing nothing about towels, became able to do a certain amount of things, and found myself working there for a long time. So, when I am asked, “What is the most rewarding moment in your work? I am at a loss for answers (laugh).

(laugh) But there are customers who love our towels and go out of their way to visit our head office and factory in Imabari. When we see such customers, we feel confident that we are delivering a quality product.

There are many details involved in towel production, and it is important to take care of each and every one of them. I will continue to do my job well.

Interview June 2023
Interview and text by Keiji Ide
Photographer/ Yuji Kimura