If you went to SEI's website at any point this summer, the graphic above may look familiar to you. But what exactly is the Sumitomo Electric Group 2030 Vision?

The quick answer is that it's a 36-page document, with many illustrations, that describes the long-term direction of our global organization. This direction is given within the context of new technologies we expect to see more widely used by the year 2030 — for example, virtual reality, self-driving cars, and renewable energy. In that future, the SEG will have an important role to play, as long as we collectively focus our time, talent, and resources on making products that will be needed and valued by the companies building out those new technologies. 

The SEG 2030 Vision is divided into four sections. First, a statement of our corporate philosophy and the purpose of our organization. Second, the SEG strategy to focus on the key areas of energy, mobility, and infocommunications. Third, a visual catalog of the kinds of products we can provide to those key areas in the years ahead. Finally, a bird's-eye view of the tools we have at our disposal to create more value going forward. 

This is the first time that SEI has published a vision that looks this far ahead into the future. Another new element being introduced is the scaling back of mid-term management plans (like VISION 22) into shorter, 3-year periods. The shorter plans will give management greater flexibility to deal with unexpected challenges that arise due to factors such as natural disasters, supply chain issues, geopolitical instability, and accelerating technological change. 

In a recent interview, SEI President Inoue said that "we believe it is critical to share our long-term direction throughout the Group [in order to] achieve growth and social contribution at the same time." We invite you to learn more about this long-term direction by checking out the SEG 2030 Vision in one of the formats below.

Visit the website | Download the PDF file | Watch the subtitled YouTube video

Next, let's shift our gaze from the future to the present and acknowledge a couple of wonderful winning streaks we have today.

Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems recently earned their sixth consecutive Platinum Wellness Award from the Worksite Wellness Council of Louisville. This award is given each year to Kentucky-based companies in recognition of outstanding wellness programs. At SEWS, Wellness Program Manager Jeanie Dickerson, RN leads the way by setting the overall structure for the program. She makes sure that every SEWS location around the country knows about companywide activities related to physical activity, weight management, nutrition, etc. But that's not all because these activities are supplemented at each location by volunteers (Wellness Champions) who come up with other activities specifically suited for coworkers at their location. By merging corporate programming with local ideas, SEWS has forged a total team effort over the years that continues to encourage health and wellness among its associates.

The 6th Mexico Kaizen Competition was held on July 25, hosted by CONTEC and streamed via Zoom to more than 200 attendees. To open the event, CONTEC Senior Vice President Carlos Salazar thanked management for their support in promoting the culture of continuous improvement (kaizen) throughout Mexico, where more than 25,000 people are employed in Sumitomo Electric's automotive wiring harness business. Carlos also thanked all the teams that conducted kaizen activities over the course of the past year, including the 10 teams that had qualified for the day's main event by virtue of having had the best presentations at their respective locations.

This year, the 10 competing teams represented CONTEC, ATR, K&S, and Sumidenso Mediatech Mexico. Each team gave a detailed presentation on their kaizen project and answered questions from a panel of judges. In the manufacturing category, first place was awarded to the team from ATR Nayarit called Guerreros del Sangangüey (the "Warriors of Sangangüey," named after a famous volcano in their state). The team was awarded the Mexico Kaizen trophy, which they get to keep for display at their plant until next year's competition. In the indirect (non-manufacturing) category, the winning presentation was made by the Packing Optimizers from ATR Laguna. Congratulations to ATR on taking first place in both categories!

Earlier this year, it was clear to the Special Kaizen Team at Sumitomo Electric Carbide Manufacturing in Wisconsin that their efforts to promote kaizen culture needed a shot in the arm. Monthly submissions of kaizen ideas had only been averaging around five per month. So the team decided to start a kaizen rewards program because "good kaizen should be rewarded," said Chiho Bennett, an administrative assistant at SCM and member of the kaizen team.

The rules of the program are simple. Employees can submit kaizen ideas any time during the month, and by the end of the month all ideas get scored by the kaizen team and reviewed by SCM's general managers and president. Through this scoring and review process, the best kaizen ideas for that month are determined. The employees who submitted those ideas are recognized and awarded gift cards. With people at all levels of the company involved, Chiho sees that the program has "motivated employees to make a better workplace every day." And the numbers certainly bear this out, as monthly submissions have increased to 36 per month since the program started in April — a result that is itself a reward for the initiative of SCM's kaizen team.

After reading the last article, you might be wondering: what do they make at SCM? The answer is high-strength cutting tools for applications such a machining car parts with precise shapes, grooves, or holes. SCM's tool portfolio includes drills made from cemented carbide, which is one of the hardest substances on the planet next to diamond. And while cemented carbide may not be as expensive as diamond, it's actually quite precious because the key ingredient of this material is tungsten, a rare metal in short supply.

Over the years, to ensure a stable supply of tungsten for the cutting tool business, the Sumitomo Electric Group has done a lot of work with tungsten recycling. In the '80s, we started collecting used cutting tools in Japan for scrap. Since 2010, that scrap has been turned into high-purity tungsten powder thanks to a proprietary chemical process. Today, a recycling system is being built at Niagara Refining, an SEG joint venture company in Upstate New York. The idea is to someday have a global recycling system within the SEG that will cover every step in cutting tool manufacturing from raw material to finished product.

If you'd like to continue reading this business story, then click here to see the full article on SEI's website.

The Diversity & Inclusion Working Group would like to thank everyone for the high level of participation we had in the US Employee Engagement Survey that concluded earlier this month. Overall response rate was 64.9%, which means we received valuable feedback from more than 2,500 employees at dozens of locations in the US. The next step for the D&I Working Group is to determine the best way to share these survey results with the companies who took part in the survey. The group's desire is to stimulate meaningful actions that will make our workplaces even better.   

In the Environmental Health & Safety Committee, members have been more active than ever with their information sharing. One reason for this is the recent introduction of a new idea called "three options," where anyone can choose to do a quick talk about a near-miss incident, a high-risk finding, or a safety kaizen. (SCM did one such talk in July, and SEWS El Paso did one this month.) This new idea is a supplement to regular agenda items such as the review of SEI safety bulletins, updates on forklift separation efforts, and the monthly best practice presentations from member companies.

A different kind of safety — namely, the safety of our computer networks — has been a point of focus for the IT Committee. Their July 20 meeting covered a number of security-related topics, including the Cofense online training that aims to increase overall security awareness (and, relatedly, to lower our overall click rate on phishing tests). This training is being given to 18 non-SWS companies in North America. It is very important, so please be sure to take it if you haven't yet.

The Benefits & Administration Committee had their most recent meeting on July 13 and 14, where they discussed various topics including next year's health & welfare programs and the committee's strategy for property & casualty insurance. The committee also welcomed new member Jessica Kunes, CFO of Keystone Powdered Metal Company. Jessica takes the spot vacated by Chris Tan, who retired from SEUSA last month.

In our role as a provider of corporate services, SEUHO is involved with many SEG companies in many different ways. Therefore, it's important for us to keep company presidents up-to-date on our plans and activities. One method of doing this is SEUHO's summer series of Regional Managing Directors Meetings, where we get to talk with all the presidents in smaller groups — a format that allows for more discussion. This year, the series included a session for Mexico companies (June 28), two sessions for US companies (June 30 & July 8), and a Brazil-focused meeting (July 18). Each SEUHO department took turns to present their information and get feedback from attendees. This process is vital to ensuring that SEUHO keeps moving in the right direction to best serve all companies.

Another kind of interaction with executives that's now taking place is an Action Learning team comprised of representatives from six companies. Action Learning is the executive-level training conducted by SEI. The program is focused on real-world matters, runs for several months, and leads to a detailed business proposal given to SEI's Board of Directors. In June, the Action Learning team decided they will investigate how to make manufacturing in North America more profitable. The team is currently talking to SEG companies in order to better understand various factors, both internal and external, that are helping or hurting operations. Identifying root causes and then developing a proposal around key factors will be the team's big task in the coming months as they prepare for their final presentation to SEI in February.

At Judd Wire in Massachusetts, June 28 was Taco Tuesday in celebration of the company's business achievements in May. The event was organized by the Human Resources and Quality Assurance departments, who prepared and served tacos for all three shifts that day. Judd Wire employees appreciated this recognition for their efforts.

At SumiRiko Ohio, this summer they put together a team to participate in their local softball league for the first time. Since July 10, every Sunday the team has been playing games against other companies and organizations in the area. "We have associates from many different departments playing, and it is exciting to have this opportunity to connect people who may have otherwise not met," said Veronica Peterson in HR. In fact, so many people signed up to play that next year SumiRiko might field not one but two teams.

Also related to sports, SEI proudly sent five members of its track & field club to participate in the World Athletics Championships in Oregon from July 15 to 24. The five SEI runners were selected for the team representing Japan at this major competition, which included more than 1,700 athletes from around the world. Three new world records were set at these highly competitive races. Among the SEI runners, Midori Mikase did especially well by anchoring the women's 4 x 100 meter relay team in their heat; the team set a new Japan record of 43.33 seconds. Congratulations!

To close out this issue, we'd like to share a few tips on where to find more information about Sumitomo Electric.

The main place to go is the Publications page on SEI's corporate website, which has links to nearly everything published in English by the SEI Public Relations Department: press releases, the company profile brochure, a quarterly magazine called ID (which features business stories like the one above about tungsten recycling), SEI President Inoue's blog, and annual publications such as the Integrated Report and Corporate Social Responsibility report. Readers with a keen interest in new technology can also find our in-house R&D journal (SEI Technical Review) on this page.

On the other hand, if you're more curious about the past than the present, then a good place to start is this timeline of SEI's history from its founding in 1897 through 2017. A link to the book-length account of this period is included on that page as well. Or, if you'd like to go back even further, the 400-year history of Sumitomo in general (and not just Sumitomo Electric in particular) is chronicled on this collection of pages prepared by the Sumitomo Group Public Affairs Committee. There's plenty here for history buffs to enjoy!

The Sumitomo Electric Group, in accordance with the Sumitomo Spirit and the Sumitomo Electric Group Corporate Principles, strives to be a group of companies worthy of society's trust by conducting our business activities with utmost integrity. To learn more about our corporate philosophy, click here.

The SEG Code of Conduct is a statement of our shared values and the standards of conduct that are expected of each of us. It describes the fundamental principles and key policies that govern how we conduct business. The Code applies to all Company employees, officers, and directors, at every level. To download a copy of the Code, click here.

The SEG Compliance Hotline is an anonymous, confidential reporting system maintained by an independent third party, Navex, who immediately refers all hotline reports to SEI's Compliance and Risk Management Office. Please note that the SEG prohibits retaliation against anyone who reports concerns or raises questions in good faith. To access the hotline, click here.