KOBASHI Group] Evolution of Local Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Caused by the Shift to Knowledge Manufacturing / Creating Businesses Like Startups While Being a 100-Year-Old Company (President x Next Generation Dialogue)

An agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in 1910,Kobashi Industriesbased in Okayama, a subsidiary ofKOBASHI Group. Mr. Shojiro Kobashi, the company’s fourth-generation president, has—since assuming the presidency in 2016—formed a capital and business alliance with Euglena Co., Ltd., invested in the venture capital fund RealTech Fund, and established a subsidiary to support startups in product developmentKOBASHI ROBOTICSThe company continues to spearhead initiatives—such as the establishment of [...], which are reshaping the image of local small and medium-sized enterprises. What kind of future does it envision? Through a conversation with Noi Tachizaki, a “Molting Generator” and next-generation employee at Ribane, we explore KOBASHI’s vision as it takes on the challenges of a new era.

→The KOBASHI Group's "Interviews with Home-Grown Employees" isthis way (direction close to the speaker or towards the speaker)
→The KOBASHI Group's "Roundtable Discussion with Mid-Career Hires" isthis way (direction close to the speaker or towards the speaker)

KOBASHI HOLDINGS, Inc. President and CEO　Mr. Shojiro Kobashi
Born in Okayama, Japan in 1982, Mr. Kikuchi has been a manufacturer of agricultural machinery since its establishment in 1910. 2017 saw the reorganization of the KOBASHI Group to establish KOBASHI HOLDINGS Corporation, where he was appointed President and Representative Director. Under the philosophy of "Cultivating the Earth," he applies the knowledge and technology he has cultivated over the past 100 years to solve global issues. In 2020, he also established KOBASHI ROBOTICS Corporation and launched "Manufacturing Booster," which provides comprehensive support for start-up manufacturing. The company aims to implement technologies that solve global issues into society as early as possible.

Lifeness Co., Ltd. Molting Generator　Noi Tachizaki
Born in 2004. A member of the 5th cohort of the Masayoshi Son Scholarship Foundation. Began building robots in the third grade of elementary school. Since 2017, he has been a member of “SAKURA Tempesta,” a team competing in the U.S.-based international robotics competition FRC, where he is responsible for robot design. Starting that same year, the team won awards for six consecutive years, qualified for the World Championship four times, and in 2022, he received the individual Dean’s List Finalist Award. In April 2020, he launched Face Shield Japan and donated more than 2,200 face shields he made himself to medical institutions nationwide. In 2022, he was selected for Forbes JAPAN’s “30 Under 30: 30 People Under 30 Changing the World from Japan.” After graduating from high school, he took a gap year and joined the Molting Generator program at Lifeness Co., Ltd.

The intense “sense of crisis” I’ve felt since joining the company is what drives our business

small bridge　I first met Ms. Tachizaki at the Ribane 21st Anniversary Party held in June 2023. With many international guests in attendance, I was deeply impressed by how confidently she delivered her speech in English. I understand she is currently working at Ribane as part of her gap year after graduating from high school, but how did you two first meet?

Tachizaki　Ever since I was a child, I was the kind of kid who would get excited just from having my parents buy me screws and nuts at a home improvement store. Around the age of 5, I started building things like radios through electronics projects, and when I was 9, I was so thrilled to have built a robot just by imitating what I saw that I became completely absorbed in robot development. Then, as a gift for my 11th birthday, I started attending the Ribane Robotics Lab, where a Ribane employee who served as my instructor became my “mentor.” From there, I was invited to participate in “Science Castle,” a conference for middle and high school students organized by Ribane, and they also supported my personal projects—which is how I’ve arrived where I am today.

small bridge　I see. So this completes a major cycle in which the next generation, nurtured by Ribane, joins the very company that helped develop them.

Tachizaki　Yes. And after joining the company, we adopted the mission statement: “To realize an autonomous social system for forests and people.”Lifeness Forest ProjectAnd I was also able to work with KOBASHI ROBOTICS.

small bridgeThat's right. We had them design a device for the tree-planting drone we developed jointly with Ribane that drops “seed balls”—tree seeds encased in soil—onto the ground.

TachizakiI’ve been wanting to ask this for a while: Why is KOBASHI—which started out as a manufacturer of agricultural machinery—so actively pursuing new business ventures, such as drone development?

small bridge　It all comes down to a “sense of urgency.” Let me go back a bit: I joined Kobashi Industries in 2008 at the age of 26. Since the company was founded in 1910, it was already about 100 years old at that point, and my father was serving as the third-generation president. In other words, Kobashi Industries is a long-established family business, and from the moment I joined, I was determined to take over the family business.

Tachizaki　26 years old! You made that big decision at an age not much different from mine now.

small bridge　At that time, my father told me, “Kobashi Industries is a truly great company,” but I couldn’t take his words at face value. It’s true that the company’s financial health and business profitability were strong. On the other hand, 100 percent of our customers at the time were farmers, and the number of people working in agriculture in Japan had been declining sharply for some time, with an aging workforce becoming a serious issue. The more I analyzed the actual data and thought it over, the less I could see any bright spots for the future. In other words, my father, who was passing the baton, and I, who was receiving it, were looking at things from different time horizons, which is why I couldn’t fully share his feelings.

Tachizaki　And so, a strong sense of urgency set in—that “things can’t go on like this.”…

small bridge　You’re absolutely right. I realized that a business that deals exclusively with domestic farmers and sells only agricultural machinery cannot be a company that will last forever. So what should we do? With the agricultural sector as a whole on a downward trend, if we don’t increase farmers’ incomes, there won’t be any money flowing back into our core business of agricultural machinery. Therefore, fundamentally, we need to start by figuring out how to raise farmers’ incomes. We arrived at the conclusion that Kobashi Industries’ new business ventures should be the ones to take on that role. Our collaboration with euglena, with whom we formed a capital and business alliance in 2017, is a prime example of this. If we can cultivate microalgae—which can be used to produce biojet fuel—on fallow fields, it will become a new source of income for farmers.

Is it worth staking my life on that management philosophy?

Tachizaki　In 2019, the company’s management philosophy was redefined as “Cultivating the Earth.” When I saw those words, my immediate reaction was, “That’s so cool!” I’ve always loved robotics and have been working in the field for a long time, but at the same time, I felt that what I was doing was somehow disconnected from the Earth and all life. However, with the phrase “Cultivating the Earth,” I felt like I finally had a place here. How did the company arrive at this philosophy?

small bridge　When I became president in 2016, my father told me, “I’ve passed on everything I needed to. Believe in yourself and give it your all.” That also meant that the entire 100-year history of KOBASHI had been entrusted to me. With that in mind, I asked myself: What is it that I want to dedicate my life to? I pondered what was necessary to shape the next 100 years. And what I arrived at was the philosophy of “cultivating the Earth.” Until now, Kobashi Industries has been cultivating “farmland.” From now on, I have decided that we will be a company that approaches our work on the scale of the “Earth” itself, guiding humanity toward solutions to its challenges.

Tachizaki　A philosophy he’s staked his life on… That’s amazing.

small bridge　For me, my company and my life are one and the same. However, it took me three years to settle on the phrase “cultivating the Earth.” I came across this phrase relatively early on, but I couldn’t quite commit to it. So, with the mindset of “taking this phrase with me wherever I go,” I kept sharing it constantly—in various regions, situations, and with all kinds of people. As a result, it wasn’t until three years later that I became convinced: “This is definitely it,” and “No matter how I look at it, this is the only phrase that works.” I sincerely hope that at the end of my life, I’ll be able to say, “I cultivated the Earth,” and leave this world with that thought.

Tachizaki　One of Ribanes’ codes of conduct is “Always Give a Presentation.” So I, too, make it a point to talk about my dreams whenever I meet someone, and I feel like my words are gradually becoming clearer. Is this a similar feeling?

small bridge　Exactly. Furthermore, simply establishing a company philosophy isn’t enough. I believe it’s crucial for that philosophy to permeate every corner of the organization and become so ingrained that it guides our actions instinctively. Since I cannot achieve “Cultivating the Earth” on my own, I need to gather a team. Even in the folktale of Momotaro, a group of companions came together under the common goal of “defeating the ogres.” In the same way, people who resonate with the aspiration to “cultivate the Earth” are joining forces to tackle the challenges facing humanity and our planet together. Such companions are now beginning to gather at our company.

Staying true to our convictions through a firm set of principles and medium- to long-term strategies

small bridge　Please tell us about your dreams, Mr. Tachizaki.

Tachizaki　I’ve long wanted to “hold a robot competition in space,” and my thoughts on the matter deepened a few months ago when I participated in a workshop themed “Life in Space in 2050.” For example, it’s more efficient to “build robots in space” rather than “transport them to space.” To achieve this, we’ll need “robots that handle assembly,” and we’ll also need to consider “what standards should parts have to be easy to use in space.” At this point, my goal is to “automate every aspect of the manufacturing process.” If this can be realized, not only will a “Robocon in space” become a reality, but it should also give rise to “a world where everyone can freely create things.”

small bridge　That sounds interesting! KOBASHI would definitely like to work on this with you.

Tachizaki　Yes! I'm sure this project will also contribute to "cultivating the Earth."

small bridge　As long as we share the same vision, we can work together no matter what our respective roles are. When a joint project comes to fruition, I’m sure we’ll have a few requests, but those will be suggestions from a place of partnership—like, “Wouldn’t this be even better if we did it this way?”—rather than us dictating exactly what needs to be done. This is also a fundamental principle of KOBASHI’s hiring philosophy. If we share the same vision, it’s more effective to let everyone bring their own unique strengths to the table from there on out.

Tachizaki　That's lovely.

small bridge　In that sense, I strongly identify with Ribane’s concept of “knowledge manufacturing”—the idea of combining our collective knowledge to create new insights that solve unresolved challenges—and I believe this approach should spread throughout society as a whole. At the same time, however, I feel that society as a whole is not yet ready for this. In this environment, I hope that by demonstrating our uniqueness—what makes “KOBASHI” special—and serving as a successful model, we can provide the impetus for this concept to spread throughout society as a whole. To that end, through our holding company structure, we circulate the management resources generated by our existing businesses within the group to create new ventures—in essence, we are practicing “intra-group knowledge manufacturing.” Furthermore, by remaining a privately held company, we are not constrained by short-term profits and can continue our business from a medium- to long-term perspective—a value shared by our family. How can we realize “businesses that may not seem profitable but are necessary for society”? I believe one answer lies in regional family-owned businesses.

Tachizaki　I think this ties in with the question of “what we want to achieve in the medium to long term,” but from our generation’s perspective, the mindset of “for the sake of the Earth” feels very natural. The Earth doesn’t belong to humans alone, and I feel that I want to use my future abilities to “help keep the Earth in as healthy a cycle as possible.”

small bridge　Remember how, on school field trips when we were kids, our teachers would tell us, “Let’s leave the place cleaner than we found it”? For me, “for the sake of the Earth” means exactly that—it’s about “passing on an Earth to the next generation that’s more beautiful than the one I was born into.” I don’t believe every company should adopt a long-term perspective, but at the very least, for a family-owned business like ours, I think it’s a philosophy that aligns very well with our values.

Tachizaki　Finally, could you tell us what kind of future KOBASHI is aiming to create?

small bridge　We are committed to making “Cultivating the Earth” a reality. However, KOBASHI cannot achieve this alone. By continuing to share our philosophy, we hope to bring together many partners—not only from within our company but also from outside—to work together toward this goal. We also hope that as more and more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) emerge—inspired by the belief that “If KOBASHI can do it, so can we”—the management of SMEs will gain greater attention, thereby helping to strengthen the Japanese economy as a whole. If the number of such SMEs continues to grow, the future will surely be bright.

Tachizaki　It’s truly “A New Era of Knowledge Manufacturing"Right?" I'd like to be a part of that, too.

small bridge　Of course. Let's build the future together!