Vol.10

Catch up with Keiji Ikeuchi, key man in quality control.

In one word to describe IKEUCHI ORGANIC, Mr. Yano asserts, "We are a company that is doing things in an honest manner without any pretense. He is responsible for product development and quality control all at once, and is currently in charge of the development of Organic 960, which is scheduled to go on sale in early summer. He spoke to us about the difficulty of raising the quality of products while using organic cotton, which is not of uniform quality, and about his sense of crisis regarding the current situation, saying that he is determined to steal as much as he can from Keiji Ikeuchi.

Quality Control/Product Development and Design Section Manager Yano

Broad perspective cultivated through experience in various departments

–When did you join the company, Mr. Yano?

I joined the company 5 or 6 years ago, quit once, and came back about 2 years ago. I joined the company as a sales planning recruiter, first in the machine shop (hataba*1), then moved to shipping after about two years of experience, and about one or two years after that, Cambria Palace was broadcast ( *2). After the broadcast, we were inundated with orders, and I collapsed from the sheer volume of work (laughs). That was the reason why I quit (laughs).

(laughs) — Were you still in charge of shipping after you came back?

I was in charge of shipping for about a year after I came back, and then about a year ago, I was transferred to the planning department to take my current job. So at IKEUCHI, I have experienced many things, including the machine shop, shipping, and product management.

The Keeper of IKEUCHI Quality, in Charge of Quality Control

–Please tell us about your current responsibilities.

I am in charge of both product development and quality control. In a word, product development is planning. It includes design and designing. Quality control is also just as the word implies. I think you sometimes send an e-mail to all employees ( *3), just like that. I receive such information (defects in the manufacturing process, defects in products after shipment, etc.), so I am given the responsibility to fix the problems.

No Lying, No Compromise: Reaching an Overwhelming Level of Quality

–What are some of the challenges you face when you are in charge of quality control?

We often say that IKEUCHI ORGANIC is an “organic company that never lies” (even to the outside world), but we are a company that is doing things in an honest manner without any pretense. I think they could have been more serious about their business if they weren’t. Thanks to this, I wonder how much trouble we are having with the B product rate ( *4).

–The other day, we received a B product at the Tokyo store, and no one could tell which part of it was the B product.

Our (company’s) standards for B products are high. Because it is organic ( *5). Normally, we should just compromise and say it’s organic, but we don’t. I don’t think they want us to make any compromises. I would like to see them compromise somewhere (laughs).

Appreciating the opportunity to hear directly from end users

–When are you happy in your job?

It is the reaction of the customers. The towel shop (company) I worked for before was a wholesaler, so we didn’t have the opportunity to hear directly from customers (end users). But recently, sales at our shops and on our website have been growing tremendously. It is a headache when we receive scolding, but we are grateful for the real feedback we receive about our products, and I think we are a great company. I don’t think there are many companies that are able to hear directly from end users.

Returning to the towel industry after 6 years of NEET

–I am afraid this is a personal question, but please tell us how you spend your private life.

I am a recluse, so I play Mon-Han ( *6) (laughs), which is my basic NEET attribute. I was a NEET for about 6 years before I joined IKEUCHI from my previous towel company; I was NEET from the age of 25 until I turned 31.

I wanted to make use of my knowledge as a towel maker, but I didn’t want to go to my former company’s competitor. I happened to see a job opening at IKEUCHI, and I thought that I could make use of my knowledge here, and since we were not in the wholesale business and had a completely different distribution channel, it would not cause any trouble for my former company.

Straights is the towel that set the direction of IKEUCHI.

–Please tell us about your favorite towel.

It is the Straits 2. The original Straits was the towel that set the direction for IKEUCHI’s original design, which was carried over and made completely organic.

（What is different about Straits 2 compared to our other towels is that it contains a little polyester, and above all, it is shorter than our other towels, with a width of 60 centimeters. Recently, 72 cm wide bath towels are the mainstream, and they are big and comfortable for wiping, but it is very difficult for the person doing the laundry, and my mom complains a lot (laughs). (Laughs.) He said, “Your towels are too heavy for the washing machine, so don’t use them because they don’t hold much other laundry. So, this 60 cm thin towel is very good for people who do laundry. And it’s comfortable enough to wipe with. I use it because it is a necessary and satisfying wipe.

Learning from Keiji Ikeuchi with an eye on the future

–What do you want to do in the company in the future?

It has been one year since I moved to my current department. I’ve only just started, so it’s difficult to say what the future holds. Right now, our company is largely dependent on the president, so everything from estimates to basic design is decided by the president, and we follow his lead. I am trying to steal as much as I can from the president with an eye toward what I want to do in the future. After all, for better or worse, IKEUCHI ORGANIC equals Keiji Ikeuchi.

Until now, it was the norm for IKEUCHI ORGANIC to have Keiji Ikeuchi appear at these events (interviews using the media) to answer questions. I think it is an interesting initiative to have each and every employee answer the questions in this way.

Interview January 2016
Interview and text by Mutaguchi and Kamio
Photographer/ Yuji Kimura (Kimura Photo Office)

Notes
*1: Weaving fabric, in charge of weaving
*2: Ikeuchi Towel (at the time) was featured in the same TV Tokyo program in December 2011 and became a hot topic.
*3: Internal emails are sent out to inform people about what is happening in quality control, such as quality control reports.
4: Scratches, stains, errors in yarn specifications, defects in weaving, etc. that prevent products from being made.
*5：The quality of yarn made from organic cotton is more varied than that of ordinary cotton
*6: “Monster Hunter” home video game