Message from the President

Tetsuo Kanamoto President and Chief Executive Officer

I am pleased to report on the operating activities of Kanamoto Co., Ltd. during the Business Period ended October 31, 2018 and discuss our policies for the future.

During the consolidated fiscal year recently completed, Japan’s economy showed positive employment and income-related trends and a gradual increase in capital expenditures against the backdrop of solid corporate earnings, despite a slight slowdown in growth, and maintained its steady expansion. Nevertheless, when the worldwide economy uncertainty kindled by trade frictions between the United States and China is taken into consideration, the risk of a recession is now conceivable as well, and we must pay sufficient attention to the impact on Japan’s economy, and on the markets Kanamoto is developing in Asia, in the event a slowdown occurs.

In the domestic construction industry that is the main customer for the Kanamoto Group’s core business of construction equipment rentals, construction equipment rental demand remained brisk. In addition to being supported by public works, full-scale progress is underway on large-scale private sector redevelopment projects, especially in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and on works related to the Tokyo Olympics. Large-scale transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance projects, best exemplified by the Linear Chuo Shinkansen, are moving forward as well.
On the other hand, multiple issues have grown more urgent, including the soaring cost of materials, chronic manpower shortages, and the widening disparity between regions in volume of construction works, and strengthening our business structure to further improve our response capabilities will be critical for maintaining the Kanamoto Group’s continuing growth phase. Moreover, restoration support activities in response to the continuous onslaught of natural disasters such as torrential rains in western Japan, Typhoon No. 21 and the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake are a critical mission of the Kanamoto Group, and we will continue our focus on building a rental equipment supply organization that takes maximum advantage of Kanamoto’s branch network throughout Japan.

“BULL55”, the long-term vision we currently are executing, generally is progressing with results in line with our initial plan. We will continue to pursue our priority policy of ensuring the optimum quantities and models of rental equipment to meet both construction demand and customers’ needs, and resolutely maintain the construction equipment rental business fundamentals of always providing customer convenience while achieving greater operating efficiency and further productivity improvements through superior operation of new systems.
In the years ahead as well, we will move forward to achieve our long-term vision objective of being “an excellent and dynamic group that uses its solid earnings as a base to reward shareholders, customers and employees”, and push to complete the final year of “BULL55” during the Business Period ending October 2019.

We look forward to continuing to receive the unwavering support of our shareholders and investors and your encouragement for the Kanamoto Group in the future.

Charting our course for the next 50 to 100 that could also be called Kanamoto’s corporate philosophy.

Kanamoto’s “action guidelines” have guided our employees for over 40 years.

  1. Seek change, and mobilize every resource to energize the company
  2. Always remember Kanamoto is a team competing to win profits
  3. Maintain a self-directed and independent mind
The first guideline shows the “stance we should adopt as an organization”, the second the “creation of profits” that is our original role as a firm, and the third the idea that “autonomy”, rather than “independence”, is the point. Together, they embody the mentality we seek to instill in each and every employee, to ensure these action guidelines are alive throughout Kanamoto.
The drive to maintain growth while responding to the bewildering changes in the business environment lies in our action guidelines, which could be called the corporate philosophy that has supported Kanamoto’s history. Seeking change without being afraid to leave current circumstances behind requires incessant renewal of each employee’s awareness. It also means we must expand and deepen the areas we challenge, wherever we can. We are firmly convinced that steady practice alone can lead Kanamoto to new horizons.