[Tuesday, June 10, 1980 - Nihon Kogyo Shimbun]
It was October 1948 when Inoue started Inoue Kiki Seisakusho in Kamata, Tokyo.
In today's terms, it would be the first step towards "getting off the treadmill." From here on, some guesses about Inoue's research into starting a company will be provided.
As we have seen before, Inoue's desire to quit being a salaried worker was innate. "Someday I will be independent and have my own factory" was one of his planned routes from an early age.
The problem was when and in what form the schedule would be realized.
The fact that he had worked for a single company, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., for about twelve years, became a stepping stone. Ten year divisions have long been a guideline for measuring life.
Just at that turning point, the external factor of “defeat” overlapped. After the war, the Yoshiwara airplane engine factory where Inoue was working turned into an automobile parts factory. New car production had not started yet, so his job was to collect and maintain old cars.
Inoue worked at the center of it, but his interest was more focused on the machinery and equipment used there rather than parts manufacturing. As a machinist, he had a natural inclination of mind.
That interest developed into a desire to someday make it himself, and he wanted to own his own factory, even if it was just a town factory.
When one's feelings change that much, leaving one's current job is fixed internally as fact. And if there is even the slightest chance, it will be taken into action as a matter of course.
An opportunity came from an acquaintance from his time at Nissan. One day in 1946, he was approached by an acquaintance who was the factory manager of a company called Naigai Steel Works in Chiba.
......
"After the war, I've tried many things, but things just don't go the way I want them to. I would like to ask you to make use of your technical skills, Mr. Inoue."
Company housing was also available. For Inoue, who had been thinking that if he wanted to become independent, he would have to go to Tokyo, the invitation touched his heart. Various thoughts ran through Inoue's mind.
"Okay, this might be a chance. Let's take the plunge."
Inoue had made the decision.
It wasn't as if there was no anxiety about leaving this familiar place and jumping into a new environment. However, when he was at Nissan, he also had experience as a member of a labor union, so he wanted to grasp the feelings of the workplace and work as hard as he could. At Naigai Steel Works, Inoue pioneered detailed new work such as lighters made from aluminum machines, frameworks for umbrellas, piston pins for automobiles, bolts and screws, and put Naigai Steel Works on track.
Two years later, another opportunity came. His father, Eiyu, was getting a little older and was unable to work, staying at home. Inoue wondered if there was something he could do at home, so he started making parts for sewing machines as a side job. It was a very homey factory, with a part of the hallway of the house as the workplace; but the sewing machine factory that received the order invited him, "Would you like to start working on sewing machine parts in earnest?"
Inoue, who had helped his father by drawing blueprints while working at Naigai Steel Works, was greatly moved by this invitation. Yuzaburo Cho, the president of Naga sewing machine trading company who ordered the product, enthusiastically recommended it. Inoue's decision was hastened by the president's words, "I will definitely give you the job."
Cho is still connected to NEWLONG SEIMITSU as a board member. As a side note, the company name of NEWLONG was born by adding the word "new" to "long," the meaning of the kanji for Cho. Cho's presence had a great influence on Inoue after he became independent.
(Titles of persons omitted)
<Written by Kunio Michida>
From June 3, 1980, to the 16th, over 2 weeks; Nihon Kogyo Shimbun (now:FujiSankei Business i.), reprinted with permission.
