──Could you please tell us about your experiences in global business development before joining HighChem?

President Ninomiya: I am turning 66 this year, and out of my 45-year career, I have spent more than 25 years working overseas.

Initially, I joined the chemical department of a major general trading company and had assignments in Spain, Singapore, and Thailand. During my assignment in Singapore, I encountered acrylic-based materials, which led to my current business. Then, at the age of 46, I saw a chance to expand the business in China and founded AI Japan. At AI Japan, I built a cooperative relationship with Mike Wilkinson from the UK, who was a competitor during my time in Singapore, and we have been opening up markets mainly in Europe for acrylic-based materials from Japan and China.

Since 2023, I have been under the umbrella of HighChem and have also been involved in the global market development of HighChem’s existing chemical products.

Division Chief Takimoto:After graduating from a university in the United States, I joined a major machinery manufacturer where I worked in sales for water treatment and exhaust gas treatment plants. Initially, I was in domestic sales, but I was assigned to the overseas sales department and was responsible for North America, Hong Kong, and Taiwan before being stationed in Shanghai. As it was an infrastructure business, we were selling to government agencies, airports, and large corporations like oil refineries. I had the experience of starting a big business from scratch in a foreign country where no one knew me.

In the midst of this, I got involved in work like actually setting up a company, and I thought I could do it myself, and I started to have a desire to start a business. An idea that I planned myself won in a startup competition, and after resigning, I chose the path of an entrepreneur. That company ran out of funds halfway through, but I continued to start startups and achieved several company exits.

After that, wanting to gain new experiences, I joined a major IT company and was involved in the business of launching private brands in the fashion department. That company had a culture where new businesses were always being created, and it fit me very well. An incredible number of new businesses were born and disappeared every day. There, I made a three-year business plan and got it on track.

Last year, I joined HighChem because I thought it was an interesting company that wanted to do fashion even though it was a chemical company. It seemed like a company that was trying to start things from zero, so I thought it would be interesting because there were few constraints. That’s what led me to join.

──Both of you have interesting experiences.
Could you tell us about your current mission at HighChem?

President Ninomiya:In 2023, when AI Japan came under the umbrella of HighChem, I believe what they were expecting from us was our connection to the Western market for AI. The mission I feel right now is to develop the Western market for HighChem products, including the existing business of acrylic-based materials.

Division Chief Takimoto: My mission is to see how we can permeate the fashion industry with sustainable materials, including PLA fibers handled by HighChem. When it comes to a sustainable market, the focus is on the West. So, basically, how to woo Western companies and make them fans is one of the big tasks I see.

──What kind of work does it specifically involve?

President Ninomiya:In my case, I am mainly developing the Western market for upstream and downstream materials of acrylic and methacrylic systems. Currently, in the West, there is a market for acrylic materials, but manufacturers are heading towards production cuts due to environmental regulations and geopolitical circumstances that make it difficult to obtain raw materials. To break into the market under such circumstances, I am mainly working on two things.

The first is networking.
It’s quite difficult to grasp the actual situation of Western customers while in Asia. Therefore, it’s about finding partners who are well acquainted with the local market and customers. Mike, a co-founder of AI Japan, is one of them, and one of our strategies is to develop the market through them.

The second is building a supply chain.
Currently, due to geopolitical circumstances, sea freight rates are soaring. Also, the tariffs that come into play when exporting raw materials to the West are a major barrier to doing business. Therefore, it is necessary to think about a means of transporting goods that can avoid these barriers and actually put effort into incorporating them into the supply chain. For this, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the cargo, the market, and the customers, and to rebuild methods such as sourcing. For this reason, I am attending meetings of Western chemical manufacturers and doing work like building relationships with manufacturers.

Takimoto: “Business development requires a mindset of persistently and steadily making efforts until a window opens up.”

Division Chief Takimoto:In my case, I am working on getting HighChem’s sustainable materials adopted by the apparel industry in the West. I don’t have any special connections to the Western apparel industry, so it’s a start from zero.

The first method is PR activities to local media in collaboration with public relations.
Whether it’s getting featured in local media or participating in local conferences and speaking, I believe it’s necessary to get the apparel industry to know about the sustainable materials that HighChem handles.

Another is building relationships with Western fashion brands and fabric manufacturers.

Since I’m starting from a state with no connections at all, I’m in a state of doing cold-call sales from one end to the other (laughs).

It is said that there are about 5,000 fabric manufacturers in Italy alone. Among them, it’s impossible to know in advance which manufacturers would be interested in HighChem’s products. That’s why I read SNS and local media, find people who seem to be interested, and call out to them one after another.

If you keep making an effort and persistently do it, there will definitely be someone who turns around. In fact, in Italy, 1-2% of our contacts have a response, and we are currently discussing joint development with about 20 fabric manufacturers.

I believe that  in order to develop the global market, you just have to handle a lot of volume and keep working steadily.

──It really feels like you’re blazing a trail where there is none. What kind of mindset is needed?

Division Chief Takimoto:a mindset of persistently continuing to do it until you get your chance somewhere.
This is probably a mindset that most startup companies have, but when knocking on the door overseas, you really have to keep knocking persistently. If they don’t answer the door, then maybe try going around to the back and knocking, or if that doesn’t work, try the window next.

I think it’s about whether you can act seriously with that much thought.
Really persistently making an effort. I think that’s what it comes down to for global business development. It's

──Could you tell us about the most difficult experience you’ve faced?

President Ninomiya: “If we show understanding to the other party with sincerity, even if the cultures are different, sincerity will be returned. That’s my belief.”

President Ninomiya:I think differences in culture and mentality become barriers when expanding globally.

The biggest shock I received was when I first went to Spain. From culture to way of thinking, Spain is completely different from us Asians.

When I was stationed in Spain during my trading company days, I went to a Spanish language school for the first two to three months. The teacher there said, ‘Asians are wonderful because they keep making good things. We enjoy using them.’ I had mixed feelings about that.

But that’s the mentality in Spain. In Spain, there’s a phrase ‘Hasta mañana,’ which means ‘see you tomorrow,’ and it sounds similar to Japanese, doesn’t it (laughs)? It’s a way of thinking that says, ‘You don’t have to do today what you can do tomorrow, let’s enjoy today.

I think this is a characteristic of Latin culture that is very different from Japan. Asian thinking doesn’t fit that, and I was young at the time, so I felt the cultural gap and struggled.

But just because you’ve experienced a culture shock, you can’t let it affect your work. If you impose the Asian way on them, they won’t accept it, and if they don’t accept it, you can’t build connections. While maintaining pride as a Japanese, accept their thinking and get them to understand us as well. By doing so, I was able to do various things during the seven years I was in Spain.

Regardless of the country or region, East or West, if we show understanding to the other party with sincerity, even if the cultures are different, sincerity will be returned. That’s my belief. That builds trust and connections, and I think it’s important for expanding business.

Division Chief Takimoto:Indeed, if you have a trusting relationship, the sense of speed is different. If you don’t trust the other person, you can’t proceed without checking whether what they say is correct, whether you can believe it, and everything. But if you have a trusting relationship, you can think, ‘If this person says it, let’s try it.’ That’s something that definitely exists, regardless of the country or culture.

──I see. Building trust is important in building a global business.

President Ninomiya: The reason why local partners are needed for global expansion is because trust is important in business. It takes time and cost to build a trustful relationship from nothing. But if you have a partner who has a trustful relationship with local companies, it’s not a start from zero. Through the partner, you can create connections with local companies and build a trustful relationship. I think having someone who can do that is what a network is all about.

Division Chief Takimoto:If you don’t have a trustful relationship that allows for deep relationships, the effect will be limited even if you make a contract.

President Ninomiya:The acrylic-based materials handled by AI Japan are commodities, so they are not materials that produce a big difference in quality. In gaining trust, it is more important to be able to perceive what the customer wants and propose it than the performance and technical strength itself.

What is necessary to build a trustful relationship with people of different cultures?

Division Chief Takimoto:I think it’s about working hard yourself. When you see someone working hard, you feel like reaching out to them. It leads to a feeling of being able to trust that person.

President Ninomiya:That’s exactly right. When I was 50, I set up a joint venture with a Chinese acrylic manufacturer, and at that time, it took over a year of frequent visits to the president in China to gain trust. As a result of persistently visiting, they said, ‘Even though there was no business at all, you come to us and give us various types of information,’ which led to a discussion about setting up a company together.

Takimoto: “The people who can thrive in the global market are those with spontaneous enthusiasm.”

──What skills do you think are necessary for people with talent to excel in the global market, based on your experiences?

Division Chief Takimoto:I think the ability to think and act on your own, and to create a system to overcome difficulties is necessary. 
In one of the books by Kazuo Inamori, a businessman I admire, he categorizes employees into three types: ‘non-combustible (unmotivated),’ ‘combustible (motivated),’ and ‘self-combustible (self motivated).’​​

‘Non-combustible’ people, even when there are people who work passionately around them, tend to be negative and always find reasons not to work. ‘Combustible’ people will get fired up if there are people around them who are fired up. And ‘self-combustible’ people are those who can think of their own mission and carry it out. The ones who can excel in the global market are definitely the ‘self-combustible’ people.

President Ninomiya: That’s a very important way of thinking. I always tell my staff to ‘be able to lay your own tracks,’ but in terms of this discussion, it means to become a ‘self-combustible’ person.

Division Chief Takimoto:Whether one is ‘self-combustible’ or not also relates to the ownership of thinking and acting proactively, so I think it’s a very important mindset.

──Can the ‘self-combustible’ skill be acquired later in life?

Division Chief Takimoto:I don’t think there are people who are fired up from the beginning, so I think this is a skill that can only be acquired later in life.

President Ninomiya: But you do need the original motivation. If you’re skeptical from the start, I don’t think you can absorb anything.

Division Chief Takimoto: That’s right, ‘non-combustible’ people often just report problems, saying ‘this problem has occurred.’ In that case, the boss has to scrutinize the problem brought in and think about a solution, which takes a lot of time.

On the other hand, ‘self-combustible’ people bring their own solutions along with the problem. They say, ‘This problem has occurred, this is needed to solve it, so please let me do this.’ This difference is very big.

People who can think up the solution and explain why it is for the best will definitely get promoted. And when they get promoted, they will demand the same mindset from their subordinates, so I think the company as a whole will make decisions faster. As the speed of decision-making increases, your intentions will take shape more and more, so I think the whole team will enjoy their work.

Also, while it can’t be mastered immediately, I think language is a must. If you can’t speak the language, you can’t communicate in the first place, so you can’t build a trustful relationship.

President Ninomiya: Indeed. Otherwise, you can’t talk to the local people.

──Finally, could you tell us about your future goals?

President Ninomiya:In advancing the development and expansion of the Western market, my goal is to build a new supply chain. HighChem has local corporations in America and Europe, so the goal is to actively collaborate and expand. There are quite a few large manufacturers in the West, so I definitely want to make contact with such places and make it happen.

Division Chief Takimoto: For me, I want to create a situation where HighChem’s materials are properly used by famous brands. If HIGHLACT® (polylactic acid), which is derived from corn and made by HighChem, is used in the best-selling products of famous brands, it will be useful for expanding sales channels and recruiting personnel. It will also affect the team’s financial strength, so I definitely want to realize that.

In addition, I hope that some manufacturer will use the polyester derived from CO2 that we are advancing in the C1 chemical business. Although the amount we can produce is still limited and the cost is high, if we can establish a production system at a practical level, we can realize a future where apparel materials are made from air. There is no other company than HighChem that can realize such a thing.