BBM Magazine Issue-Sayı: 42 January/February - Ocak/Şubat 2021

INTERVIEW • RÖPORTAJ 50 BBM / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021 • Ocak-Şubat 2021 on the rapidly growing markets of Asia and North America. Ms. Kimura answers our questions on the changes and challenges in the food manufacturing industry, and the com- pany's future targets and investments to address these chal- lenges. Nippon Flour Mills Co., Ltd. has 124 years of history. It has been a long journey. Could you please provide us with some brief background information on that great history? Our company was founded in 1896 as Japan's first private mechanical flour milling company. Our company originated from the government established company of Sapporo Flour Mills in Hokkaido in 1873 which was subsequently merged with Nippon Flour Mills. Through our 124 years of history, we progressed together with the development of society. Started from the flour mill- ing business, we have promoted business diversification into food, ready-made meals (Nakashoku), healthcare business and others as group businesses. The business diversification started after WWII, and after 1993, we have promoted major reforms through the reorganization of our Japanese manufac- turing locations and expansion of the international business operations in order to expand our business field and reinforce our earning base. We became a “diversified all-around food company” and our current business includes flour milling, pre- mixes, pasta, Italian foods, frozen foods, ready-made meals (Nakashoku), healthcare, biotechnology and others. On January 1st 2021, we are changing our company name from “Nippon Flour Mills Co., Ltd.” to “NIPPN CORPORA- TION” to become a “diversified all-around food company” both in name and reality. Nippon Flour Co., Ltd. is a leading milling company in Japan and greater East Asia. You are an important player in Asia's nutrition. What kind of role and place does Nippon Flour Co., Ltd. in its sector? Could you tell us how your company has come to its current position? Our flour milling business delivers stable quantity of high-quality wheat flour to customers in the bakery, noodles, confectionary and food sector. Our market share in wheat flour milling in Japan is about 23%. Our mission statements are “Strive as a corporation, to gain trust from customers and continue to grow in strength.” and “Make an effort on a daily basis to keep every cus- tomer satisfied, by offering, in every area of business, competitive products and services of superior quality, thereby contributing to society”. Based on this mission statements, we created our principles which we are im- plementing in our everyday business. We have built up a strong business relationship with many customers over mişe sahip. Bu, gerçekten uzun bir yolculuk. Bize bu köklü geçmişinize dair bilgisi verebilir misiniz? Şirketimiz 1896 yılında Japonya’nın ilk özel meka- nik un değirmenciliği şirketi olarak kuruldu. Şirketimiz, 1873 yılında Hokkaido’da devlet tarafından kurulan ve daha sonra Nippon Flour Mills ile birleşen Sapporo Flour Mills şirketinden doğmuştur. 125 yıllık tarihimiz boyunca toplumumuzun gelişi- mine paralel olarak ilerledik. Un değirmenciliğinden başlayarak işimizi gıda, hazır gıda (Nakashoku), sağlık hizmetleri ve farklı alanlarda faaliyet gösteren bir grup olarak çeşitlendirdik. İş çeşitlendirme süreci, İkinci Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra başladı. 1993’ten sonra, faaliyet alanlarımızı genişletmek ve kazanç tabanımızı güçlendirmek için Japonya’daki üretim lokasyonlarımı- Nippon Flour Mills Co., Ltd has 7 mills in Japan, including the Chiba Mill which has one of the highest flour milling capacities in the country. NIPPN’un, Japonya’da en yüksek un üretim kapasitelerinden birine sahip Chiba Değirmeni de dahil olmak üzere 7 değirmeni bulunuyor.