A talk with Takuji (Zach) Maekawa, Taiyo America's President, about Taiyo today and in the future. As well as how they are coping with COVID-19.
Dan: Good talking with you today Zach. When did you come to Taiyo America?
Zach: Good talking with you Dan, I came to Taiyo in June of last year.
Dan: What is your background Zach?
Zach: Most of my career has been spent with cross-border technology companies working as a new business launch specialist, Intrapreneur, business turnaround specialist, start-up company manager, and venture capitalist. I've started a number of new businesses in Japan, the U.S. and Asia. I have always had a passion for new ideas, new products, and new companies.
Dan: How do you like working with Taiyo America?
Zach: It's awesome!
Dan: How are things going at Taiyo during this time of COVID-19?
Zach: We are doing everything we can to stay open and support our customers. Our goal is to make our customers happy and satisfied, and this focus does not change no matter what because customer satisfaction is our top priority. It's tough for everyone; we are seeing some of our customers struggle and we are doing all that we can to help them.
Dan: What are your goals for the company?
Zach: I'm focused on business growth as well as customer satisfaction. We have many new business opportunities in both North America and Europe. We are growing our solder mask business by expanding our solutions for our customers. In July we acquired the equipment manufacturer Circuit Automation, which was a good step for us; we knew they had great technology as well as great customer service. In fact, we share many of the same customers, so we fit very well together. The new company is called Taiyo Circuit Automation. Our customers are very happy with this acquisition because this makes us a one stop shopping resource for them when it comes to solder mask solutions. I expect that during the next five years we will continue to innovate by expanding our technologies and coming up with new and uniquely innovative products. We will then be of even greater value to our customers.
Dan: How do you see the North American market in general, and as far as your business?
Zach: Like I said earlier, we see a lot of business opportunities in North America for our company. I see companies spending more time, money and effort on new products. With the situation in the world right now companies are solidifying their electronics supply chain and are looking for more and more domestic sources. Taiyo has a wide range of product lines for dielectric materials including liquid based and dry film products which these companies are going to need as they develop new products.
Dan: What kind of new products is Taiyo able to offer right now?
Zach: We have a number of new products including inkjet solder mask, low temperature curing via fill, high thermal conductivity material, low dk/df materials, and flexible solder mask. Conductive stretchable paste for flexible electronics applications, as well as a number of other new products, are in development and will be introduced to customers in the next few months.
Taiyo is a global company with a wide network of sales, marketing, R&D, and technology capabilities. We have over 100 engineers world-wide focused on developing new solutions.
Dan: What would you like your customers to know about Taiyo America?
Zach: When you think of building electronic products and you require dielectric materials always consider Taiyo America, we are here to help solve your problems not only today, but in the future, as well.
Dan: Zach, once again thanks for taking the time to talk to me today.
Zach: My pleasure Dan!
For more information about Dan Beaulieu's DB Management Group: https://www.dbmanagementgroup.com/
