OSAKA: A delegation of Kuwaiti entrepreneurs is currently on a study tour in Japan visiting manufacturing hubs and small-medium manufacturing facilities to learn Japanese expertise, an organizer said yesterday. The 10-day technical visit program is organized by Kuwait Industries Union in cooperation with the National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development. According to Kuwait Industries' Union General Manager Huda Al-Baqshi, the aim of the program is to provide first-hand experience of Japanese manufacturing companies and their relationship with small and medium-sized enterprises.
While in Osaka Prefecture, the delegation visited a governmental support facility, known as MOBIO, which promotes innovation and industry partnerships among small and medium-sized manufacturers. Osaka hosts more than 41,000 factories, the largest number in Japan. Founded by the prefectural government in 2009, MOBIO is an integrated support facility to promote innovation and industry partnerships among SME manufacturers. It is equipped with Japan's biggest permanent exhibition hall showcasing SMEs' outstanding technologies and products at its 200 booths, where about 27,000 people, including 400 groups, visit each year.
Their itinerary also included the Entrepreneurial Museum of Challenge and Innovation to trace the growth of Japanese entrepreneurs from villages to the world stage. Many large corporations today started as small enterprises, including Osaka-origin Panasonic and trading firm Itochu.
The delegation also visited Toyota Motor Company's Motomachi Plant and Kaikan Center in Toyota City in central Japan, where they observed how different models of Toyota cars are produced on the same production line to promptly respond to customer orders. The group saw how body parts are welded using high technology robotic arms.
The delegation's study tour is under the supervision of Nour Al-Rughaib representing the Union and Hussain Ashkanani, the group facilitator. The industrial union was established in 1989 with the aim of serving the sector and industrialists, caring for their interests and boosting performance. - KUNA