Summary : Kouichi Uehara saved what was one of Japan’s treasures: Shinkawa
Kouichi Uehara (2007) saved what was one of Japan’s treasures: Shinkawa
- Shinkawa was once the world’s largest wire bonder manufacturer, based on Mikiya Yamazaki’s development of the first microprocessor controlled wire bonder in the 1970’s
- Shinkawa (which means new stream) led the way in establishing Japan’s reputation for quality and reliability in this industry
- Sadly, they lost the way in the eighties and followed Japan’s down in the nineties
- But there were always lots of great people there, they just needed a great leader to turn them around
- He’s been with the company since 1965 and became president just after the Y2K boom became everyone’s nightmare
- He has definitely proven wrong the old saw about needing outside management to get different results
- It just takes good people and they can be insiders
