Supporting local industry today and tomorrow; working closely with clients and communities

Headquartered in Japan, Mayekawa has branches and offices in approximately 60 locations across the country, and those locations are not limited to major metropolitan areas, which are centers of economic activity. Since its early days, Mayekawa has also proactively established bases of operation in more rural areas where local industries prosper. One of those locations is Hachinohe City in Aomori Prefecture, which is located in northern Japan.

Blessed with a rich marine environment that includes the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean , Hachinohe City lands the largest volume of freshly caught squid in Japan. The seas off its coast are also well-known fishing grounds for mackerel and are the source of fish sold under the valuable and loved Hachinohe-mae-oki mackerel brand. Large catches of fish are brought into the city’s port every day, and the area also prospers as a result of a vibrant processed marine products industry that utilizes those fish as raw ingredients. One company contributing to this prosperity is Maruyo Seafoods Co., Ltd., which has a plant situated on a noticeably large plot in the Kikyono Industrial Park located in the lands back of Hachinohe Port.

The plant was originally built to simply store mackerel, the raw ingredient for shime saba (Japanese marinated mackerel), and squid for overnight drying. However, currently, it is also involved in various processing operations as well.

For a company that needs to secure one years’ worth of raw materials in the short mackerel fishing season, which is currently about three months—September to November—but keeps getting shorter each year, freezers for maintaining the freshness of the mackerel, the raw material for the processed foods and the processed foods themselves, are essential. At present, the plant’s total freezing capacity is 540 tons, one of the largest in all of Japan.

And, for 30 years, Mayekawa has been closely involved in the process of seeing this facility grow into one of Japan’s largest in terms of freezing capacity.

Problems and anxiety caused by changes in the support environment after equipment was initially installed

Mayekawa was not the company initially contracted to build and install the 180-ton freezer that the Kikyono plant started operations with in 1985. However, about 20 years later, when a plan to increase freezer capacity was drawn up, it was Mayekawa who undertook the work.

When adding equipment to an existing facility, it is often preferable to use the manufacturer of the equipment currently in use to help ensure a proper balance and compatibility between the old and new installations. However, for the Kikyono plant, that was not possible, because the manufacturer who was contracted 20 years had closed its offices in Hachinohe City, and the person originally in charge had relocated elsewhere.

This kind of problem is not limited to Japan; it occurs all over the world.Manufacturers often maintain bases in major metropolitan areas. When trouble occurs in areas where they do not receive regular orders or requests for maintenance, they usually dispatch staff from the nearest office to go deal with it. This kind of support structure is still often seen today. While this is reasonable from labor cost and efficiency perspectives, conversely, as there is no one regularly visiting the facility, the manufacturer cannot immediately grasp the circumstances or problems when onsite troubles or requests for consultation occur. This makes it difficult to expediently deal with the situation.

Supplying and servicing local industries while staying close to the community

Since then, They and Mayekawa have worked cooperatively in expanding the scale of the plant. In 2009, They took delivery of four natural refrigerant refrigerators, and in 2013 added two highly efficient NewTon natural refrigerant cooling systems. Over 30 years, Their freezing capacity has grown to become one of the largest in Japan as the company continues to support the fishery industry of Hachinohe City.

During the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011, Their headquarters factory in Hachinohe City suffered damage caused by the resulting tsunami. With the help of local contractors such as Mayekawa, however, the facility was quickly restored and put back into operation.

While processed marine products businesses along the Sanriku coast (northeastern Honshu, Japan’s main island) were devasted, operators in the Hachinohe region came together as one to keep supplying marine products to consumers, thus supporting the supply of fishery products across all of northeastern Japan.