Interview with the Representative Director

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Corporate Information
Interview with the Representative Director

I wish to make my father happy.
The scrap business, which I have taken on with
all my abilities to please my father,
has now grown into a company
that contributes to create a sustainable society.

"Envipro Holdings Inc.
Interview with Representative director Tromikazu Sano."

The environmental business is a field that is expected to grow in the future, but what were you thinking when you founded the Envipro Group?

Representative Director Tomikazu Sano (hereinafter "Sano") : I am not the founder.
This business was started by my father and I am the second generation.
My father started the ferrous scrap business after inheriting debt from his grandfather. Sano Maruka Shoten, which handled metal scrap, papermaking raw materials, used cloth, and scrap bottles, was the beginning of the Envipro Group.

Growing up surrounded by ferrous, paper, and fabric scrap from an early age, I was called Bokko (junk) shop Tomikazu-kun, and I felt inferior in my childhood, and I reproachfully asked why my family was doing this kind of work.
When I was in my third year of junior high school, an event led me to decide to take over the family business.
It was when I told my dad at dinner that I was elected student president of my junior high school.
My father suddenly burst into tears and was truly pleased that I was born and raised, saying "I'm glad that someone like me has a child like you." Even now, when I close my eyes, I can imagine my father at that time and the figure of my mother, who was sitting next to him with downcast eyes.

From that moment on, I decided to live to please my father, who cries, rejoices and even appreciates my growth and existence. The biggest thing was that I took over the family business that my father modestly hoped that I would take over. As a result, I decided on my profession when I was 15 years old.
However, this means that I did not choose this profession as my profession, that it was a method of pleasing my parents.

The founder, who purchased the auctioned property of a closed foundry in bulk.
At that age he was called Bokko (junk) shop Tomikazu-kun (third from the left)

What kind of experience did you have after actually taking over the family business?
Was there a turning point?

Sano ： After that, I went on to high school and university, and after graduated, I joined my father's company, but at that time the oil crisis caused all of Japan to fall into an economic recession. "At that time, my father collapsed due to illness, and there were about 15 or 16 employees, but the state was that there was not always a job to be done every day.

My father wandered between life and death, the company's financial situation was getting worse every day, and I was pretty depressed. At the age of 23, a great predicament and trial stood in front of me." While I was worried about how to deal with this predicament, I decided to reconsider my own attitude and what I should when an employee left the company.

The employee left the company, saying "It's painful to always see your gloomy face." Through that event, I learned that the atmosphere and morale of the company changes depending on the facial expressions and tone of the top management.

I continued to take the stance of smiling even when it was hard, cheerful even when I was not feeling well, and being aggressive even if I was forced to do so, then with the economic recovery, my business performance improved little by little. My father often said, "People who come into our company have a connection with us, so be grateful." "Business doesn't end after one transaction."

I hope that the other person will also be able to make money." Those words were once again engraved on my chest. This trial was a big turning point for me. When you try something, you may be given the gift of the trial, which will make you bigger and bigger. Since then, I have had various experiences many times in the wave of the changes of the times, but by continuing to face those things, I feel that I was born to do this job now. Moreover, I feel happy that I have a vocation.

The difficult period when the founder collapsed while Japan was in an economic recession
about the time he began to understand the value of being a second generation business operator (second from the right)

Expand horizons and stay ahead of the curve.
Expand the business domain overseas to open up a way of life.

With aggressive business development, you have started the full-scale export of ferrous scrap for the first time in Japan since the beginning of Heisei (since 1989). What was the key to your success?

Sano ： During the Pacific War, Japan ran out of ferrous scrap and even collected temple bells, and for more than 40 years after the war, there was not enough ferrous scrap. However, in the Heisei era, steel production peaked and gradually a surplus of ferrous scrap developed. Even if we purchase ferrous scrap, there are no customers in Japan. Therefore, we started the operations of the trade department and decided to export ferrous scrap to South Korea for the first time in Japan. This overseas expansion was an opportunity to promote business from the scope of Fujinomiya-shi and Shizuoka Prefecture, with a view toward the whole country.

The establishment of the trade department and the expansion of the sales domain gave me great confidence in both me and my employees. However, since the outlook for logistics alone is limited, we decided to introduce a large shredder to recycle used automobiles and home appliances. At that time, it was a large investment that was said to be reckless, but this investment became the basis for future business expansion.

In 1989 moved to the current industrial park.
Installed a shredder plant.
Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018 for the first time in the industry.
Engage in the ongoing creation of businesses that society needs (recent examples: lithium-ion battery recycling business, recycled plastic manufacturing business, etc.)

Talking about firsts in Japan,
the company was listed on the Second Section
of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2013
and the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018,
a first for the industry. Why did you want to be listed?

Sano ： Of course, we need to raise funds to expand our business, but the biggest purpose is to have this business widely recognized around the world. The recycling of ferrous scrap is an indispensable business for society from the viewpoint of realizing a sustainable society, but it is still not a popular industry.

The listing changed the perception of society, and I had a strong desire to create an industry where people involved in this industry, including employees, business partners and other companies in the same industry, can work with confidence.

Social entrepreneurs may laugh at me, but it's only recently that I've become aware of building a sustainable society. As the company grew in size, first with parents, then with family and relatives, employees, and business partners, the range of things we wanted to please was expanding. It wasn't until I was 60 years old that my horizons expanded to my hometown of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and, vaguely, to the world. As my horizons expanded with mysterious things, the number of people who supported me increased steadily.

Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018 for the first time in the industry.

What basic policy do you emphasize when starting a new business?

Sano ： One of our corporate philosophies is "Creative company, engage in the ongoing creation of businesses that society needs." Obviously, if you run into immediate profits and do business that is unnecessary for society, the company itself will become unsustainable. Only when this fundamental part is achieved can we contribute to create a sustainable society, and if we collaborate with our current business, we can develop meaningful new businesses.
I hope that the current employees and the new colleagues who will join the Envipro Group in the future will actively promote various businesses.

Engage in the ongoing creation of businesses that society needs （recent cases: Lithium-ion batteries Recycling Business, Manufacturing business of recycled plastics, etc.)

The sustainable growth
of the Envipro group
will increase the potential
of a sustainable society.

What are the autonomous human resources the Envipro group requires?

Sano ： There are three characteristics I would like in the colleagues I work with. First of all, please sympathize with our corporate philosophy. Next, they are interested in realizing a sustainable society. And I think every company wants this, but it's be an autonomous human resource.
We must overcome continuous changes in the future. In that case, a group of people with a uniform mindset, such as Kintaro-ame, cannot handle the change. I think the Envipro group is a company where people who can set their own issues and take action to resolve them can work with a sense of satisfaction.

Employees working in the group

What is the policy of the Envipro group regarding the mission of "Contribute to Create a Sustainable Society"?

Sano ： The sustainable society we think of is a resource circulation society, a decarbonized society, and a society where each of us can live and work actively. Our strength is that we are expanding our business in these three areas. I am convinced that the sustainable growth of our company will lead to the enhancement of the sustainability of society. My own role is to continue to take action to carry out the mission of "Contribute to Create a Sustainable Society".
And I think it is also important to develop companies that the people who are involved in the Envipro group, such as employees and their families, business partners, investors, and people who may collaborate in the form of joint ventures in the future can say, "I am glad I met this company."

The head office is located in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture, overlooking majestic Mt. Fuji

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