Minoh Kayano Station is the first new station in Japan to use this technology! Minoh Kayano Station,” with its pleasant breezy membrane roof, and “Minoh Senba Hankai-mae Station,” with its earthquake-resistant and durable membrane ceiling, are now in operation.

In March 2024, two new Kita Osaka Kyuko Railway stations, Minoh Kayano Station and Minoh Senba Hankai-mae Station, opened in the lush green city of Minoh in northwestern Osaka. The two stations are directly connected to the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line, allowing access to central Osaka by a single train. The project, which was the long-cherished wish of the citizens of Minoh, has adopted Taiyo Kogyo’s membrane technology. However, the road was not smooth: the design plan was not finalized even after two years, and many changes occurred even after construction began. How did Taiyo Kogyo deal with the strong desire of the city of Minoh? The two sales representatives, Tokusei Taihei (hereafter referred to as “Taihei”) and Mitsuru Shikama (hereafter referred to as “Shikama”), talk about their behind-the-scenes experience.

The sales force that covered the "metal" roof over the "membrane."
Two years later, however, the plan comes to a halt.

Minoh’s long-awaited extension project has begun. However, it was already too late. By the time Taiyo Kogyo learned the news, the material for the roof had been decided to be metal. The situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable, but Taihei found a breakthrough.  Taihei: The Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway extension project is a major project that has been under consideration for about 50 years. I have been in charge of the Minoh City area for some time and have known the person in charge at the city hall for many years. Of course, I knew about the Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway extension project, but I had never heard of it before. As soon as we heard the news, we contacted the person in charge, but it was already too late. After it was decided that the roof material would be metal, we contacted the consulting firm and design firm that we had been referred to, but they were all saying, “It’s too difficult. If the city hall would not accept the proposal, the consulting firm would not accept the proposal, and the design firm would not accept the proposal, then we had no choice but to propose the project to the mayor. We tried every trick in the book to get an appointment to meet with the mayor. Our proposal was simple, just a catalog and a few words, but the mayor was impressed by our bright and airy image. The fact that the mayor was young and eager to try new things and was interested in membrane roofs was also a boost. We did not use any props such as screens or videos in our presentation. The year 2018 was a year of many disasters, including the earthquake in northern Osaka and typhoons. I believe that the decision was supported by the disaster-resistant episode of “metal roofs were damaged, but membrane roofs were unaffected.

On the other hand, the real critical point was here. The mayor wanted a design with impact. No matter how many times we presented it to him, he would not budge. With the help of our designers, we presented a computer graphics and a model of what we wanted, but we could not convince the mayor. In 2020, a new type of coronavirus infection spread throughout the world. Like other cities, towns, and villages, Minoh’s budget was strapped, and the possibility of a setback emerged. If the plan was scrapped, two years of hard work would have been for naught. In the middle of the New Year’s holidays, I went to the office of the supporters’ association to make an appointment with the new mayor. His wife was also present for the presentation. When I appealed the necessity of membrane roofs by mobilizing all the knowledge and sales power I had cultivated so far, it turned out that the new mayor had known about Taiyo Kogyo’s history and the appeal of membranes for a long time. The new mayor had long known about Taiyo Kogyo’s history and the appeal of membranes, and his strong trust in us as a company he could trust led to the implementation of the plan. I was relieved from the bottom of my heart, and I have never been so grateful for the history and trust of Taiyo Kogyo as I was at that time.

Instead of saying, "I can't do it," think of ways to do it.
A group of professionals who make dreams come true with their technical skills and responsiveness.

After twoyears of communication, construction finally began. However, the shape was drastically changed before construction began, andproblems arose in communication with the steel frame factory. Moreover, there was no change in the construction schedule, and the fabrication period was being shortened rapidly, leaving no time to spare. How did they cope with the numerous challenges? In his fifth year with the company, Shikama’s challenge has begun.  Shikama: I have always loved railroads and dreamed before I joined the company that one day I would be in charge of a railroad project. This project is the largest project since I joined the company in terms of both area and order amount, and it is not often that I get a chance to be involved in the extension of a railroad. When I took over the project from Mr. Yasui, who was my boss at the time, I was half happy and half nervous. However, this project posed several challenges even before we received the order. One was a drastic change in shape after the design and construction cost had been determined. The roof of the Minoh Kayano Station was designed to jut out toward the end of the platform. However, when the mayor saw the final design drawings, he decided that “more impact” was needed, and the project was reconsidered. The budget was set at the very last minute, and neither the construction period nor the construction cost could be changed. With both the client and the construction site refusing to accept the project as “impossible,” there was no choice but to have the in-house design staff do their best. The project was often changed after that, and the production time was shortened, but we were told that the technical skills of the designers were able to balance the books.

The second difficult issue is communication with the steel frame factory. The steel frame used by Taiyo Kogyo for the membrane roof has a special shape, and normally we would ask a subcontractor with experience in this field. However, due to budget constraints, it was decided to have the project handled by a steel frame factory with no experience in processing membrane roof steel frames. We visited the factory in advance with the designers, construction manager, and purchasing manager. After repeated discussions, last-minute changes were made, which delayed the ordering of materials and the start of fabrication, resulting in delays in the process. It was thought that the project would not be completed in time for the initial schedule, but we managed to adjust the process and take corrective measures. Looking back, it is a miracle that we were able to complete the project within the original schedule. We were able to escape the difficulties only because the construction staff worked really hard and took charge of the project appropriately. Later, one of the other subcontractors told me, “Taiyo Kogyo has always had the charm of not saying ‘it can’t be done,’ but rather ‘thinking of ways it can be done. It is easy to say “it can’t be done,” but it is not a matter of me alone. Because of the history of trust between our company and our clients, even if we are given a difficult problem, we try to think of ways to make it “doable” without immediately saying “it can’t be done. This project was large in scale, so we had our design, construction, and purchasing staff communicate directly with Minoh City. Since there were many irregular changes, everyone must have done their part while working left and right. The technical skills, responsiveness, and tenacious attitude of each and every one of them have created a history of trust.

The membrane roof platform is complete.
This trust leads to the next job.

Overcoming challenges, construction was completed as planned. The quality of the big project, which was accomplished through teamwork , is so high that it has been featured in industry magazines and has received high praise from other cities, towns, villages, and companies. The project was a three-way win-win-win situation: good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for the world. This is truly a project that Taiyo Kogyo should be proud of. Shikama: At the time of completion of the project, the person in charge at the Minoh City Hall said, “We made a lot of crazy requests, but you were very helpful in responding each time. Thank you very much. We are happy that we were able to carry out the project as planned without any accidents. During the construction, we walked a tightrope on this project, so much so that we were always asking ourselves, “Are you okay? I was anxious, but I never once felt that it was hard or that I wanted to run away. I think I was motivated by the pride of being involved in a project that was so big that I didn’t know if I would ever see it again in my lifetime. I think everyone knew that this was a “once-in-a-half-century project. We were able to run through the project with high motivation until the very end. As a result, our products were adopted by seven or eight facilities. I don’t think there has ever been a case in our company where our products were adopted by such a large number of clients. In particular, the “Minoh Senba Hankai-mae Station Entrance” has attracted so much attention that it was featured in an architectural magazine, and has received high praise from other cities, towns, villages, and companies. I feel that this is truly a crystallization of the strengths that Taiyo Kogyo has nurtured.

Taii: A “chi” space where sunlight pours in and a pleasant breeze blows in, that is the charm of a membrane roof. The former mayor was very particular about the design and never allowed any compromise. He wanted to provide a pleasant space for residents when they return home, to create a design that would have an impact like Osaka Station, and to create a station that would serve as the gateway to the “textile town” and “new town”. The completed membrane structure is exactly the image we had initially envisioned. We are very happy to hear that everyone has experienced the comfort of the building. When the project almost came to a halt in 2020, it was the trust of “a reliable company from Osaka” that saved my life. The success of this project has led to other work as well, and I feel that it has truly been a three-way job.

If you talk about your dreams, the future will start moving.
The next mission is the "2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.

Yasui is known as a “super salesman,” while Shikama is trusted for his solid work ethic. These two salespeople of different types led a big project to success. However, they were not star players from the very beginning of their career. Struggling between his goals and reality, he has established his own unique sales style.  Yasui: Sales work is a job in which you are ultimately connected to yourself by being useful to others. One of my mottos is to be good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for the world. It is very rewarding to reach the goal of receiving an order and to be satisfied at the end. However, when I first joined the company, I experienced a series of failures. No matter what I did, it did not lead to orders, and I even had to write a script for my sales talk before going into the office. I guess that is where I developed my courage, and in my late 20s I was able to win a relatively large order, which turned out to be a successful experience for me. I can’t say that I enjoyed the work, but I think I felt I was getting a good response. It was not until I entered my 40s that things really changed. After I started imagining and talking about the finished product, my proposals began to be accepted one after another. When I talk about my dreams, I get excited, and the client’s vision expands and the conversation becomes more exciting. My motto became, “Tell a dream to move the client’s heart,” and my work became more and more interesting. Of course, information, knowledge, and personal connections are important, but I feel that dreams are the key to moving people’s hearts. Currently, I am promoting a project related to the “2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. This is a stage where we can convey the appeal of membranes to the maximum extent possible, and I am determined to bring it to a successful conclusion. In the future, I would like to be involved in projects on a global scale.

Shikama: Looking back on this project, I can only reflect on what I regret, but there were many areas in which I was able to grow, such as increasing my expertise through dialogue with other departments and developing my ability to respond to sudden changes. I am not a smooth talker and I am not a person who knows how to get things done. That is why I read industry magazines every day and listen to the phone conversations of those around me. With the work skills I learned from my seniors in mind, I try to respond quickly, reply promptly, think from the other person’s point of view, and look at things from a bird’s-eye view of the situation, and this leads to gaining trust. Everyone at Taiyo Kogyo has a rich individuality and there are many different types of salespeople. I am from Saitama Prefecture, so when I first joined the company, it was all I could do just to get used to the Osaka culture. I think I was always nervous because I felt the Kansai dialect had a strong tone. In the meantime, the people around me changed when I was transferred to a different department, and the products we handled changed. The working environment changed fluidly, and it became easier to work. I was able to keep going even when times were tough because I thought, “I’m going to work hard for three years. As my performance increased, I gained knowledge and confidence, and a path opened up for me. I was in charge of this project from the order receipt stage, but in the future, my goal is to be in charge of everything from proposal to the end. I want to continue to advance in my career so that I don’t get overtaken by more and more junior employees who join the company.