A corporate website can be a medium that grows with your company. Takatsu Shiki Co., Ltd. website renewal

When you open the corporate website of Takatsu Shiki, which was renewed in September 2021, the first thing that appears on the top page is a series called "President Takatsu's Sustainability Records." The president of a manufacturing company that specializes in paper tubes, paper packages, and paper trays for food and hygiene products worries about whether it is okay to say that paper is good for the environment in a climate where "paper is better than plastic," and "shares what he has seen, heard, felt, and learned." The first article describes his visit to the Zero Waste Center WHY in Kamikatsu Town, Tokushima.

"This is very honest content..."

I remember being shocked. Whether you are an individual or a company, it is natural to want to look good when you are in front of people, and you want to pretend to understand things even if you don't. I was even dazzled by the way President Takatsu looked when he said, "I'm worried," and "I don't know, so I'm thinking about it."

I had been wanting to hear how this nice corporate website was made for about half a year. When the project members gathered in Kamikatsu Town, we had a chance to hear from them in a roundtable discussion. The photos were taken by designer Reiko Takita (hereafter, titles omitted).

Participants in the roundtable discussion

Shunichiro Takatsu (CEO of Takatsu Paper Box Co., Ltd.)
In 2019, he took over Takatsu Shiki, a paper processing company founded in 1882 in Kawanoe-cho, Shikokuchuo City, known as "Japan's No. 1 Paper Town." On Monosus' newly redesigned corporate website, he is spreading knowledge about the SDGs and zero waste in the series "Sustainable Travelogue."
https://www.kozushiki.co.jp/

Madoka Akaike (CEO of Gram Design Ltd.)
While working on planning, designing and program development for websites as his main job, he also participates in supporting the dissemination of information mainly in the fields of environment, forests, local communities and education, and in creating project structures. He is the editor-in-chief of " Watashi no Mori.jp. " In this project, he is in charge of planning and design.
https://www.gram.co.jp/

Takahiro Hayashi (CEO, Monosus Co., Ltd.)
After graduating from university, he worked for a major consulting firm before moving on to other companies. In 2005, he launched the company that would become Monosus. He was in charge of planning for this project.
Article written by Takahiro Hayashi

Overview of the corporate website renewal >

My perspective on other companies has changed, and my employees' motivation has increased.

-- I read the serial " Sustainer Travelogue " and thought it was great. It was a very honest discussion, and I thought it would resonate with small and medium-sized businesses who are concerned about how to respond to environmental issues. What kind of reaction have you had since the series was renewed?

Takatsu : Things that make us think "No way!" are happening one after another. We are now seen all over the country as a company that is doing interesting things. We have received inquiries from major companies through our inquiry form, and several projects have already been decided. To tell the truth, when I got the estimate from Monosus, I thought it was expensive. Mr. Hayashi told me, "We won't let you lose money. We will definitely get it back," and I think that was true.

It was only after Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Akaike learned about Takatsu Shiki's strengths and proposed the renewal that I, as the president, finally understood the strengths of my company. And by communicating those strengths, our employees also became aware of their own strengths, and the reaction from society once again confirmed that we were "really doing it."

-- I also thought the copy for "About" - "Wrap, wrap, and place cleanliness" - was excellent. I could get an idea of what the company does at a glance.

Takatsubayashi- san came up with this idea, and it's a great idea. It really is the sensibility of a consultant. I've even included it on my business cards.

Akaike : On our previous website, there were no words that directly conveyed what kind of company we were. When I said, "We should have an ABOUT page," Mr. Hayashi accepted it and said, "Then I'll write it." One day, when we came back from taking photos of the factory, he said, "Got it, Mr. Akaike!" and this copy came out.

It seemed like Takatsu Hayashi was not aware of the strengths of his company or its products, and no matter how many times we interviewed him, he was unable to fully grasp the good points of Takatsu Paper Box. However, I can't write copy unless I really think the company is good. That's why I was so happy when I finally understood! At the same time, I reflected on the fact that I had not been able to face the greatness of his company and products until that moment. If I had created it without realizing it, I don't think I would have been able to create a good website.

In the battle between creativity and productivity

-- It seems that this project was carried out with a production structure in which Hayashi and Akaike were in charge of planning, Gram Design in charge of design, and Monosus in charge of overall direction and coding.

Shunichiro Takatsu, Takatsu Paper Products

Director Takatsu Nagai-san was also great. He was reliable and calm, and I felt at ease because he was a true professional.

Akaike: They carefully monitored and directed process management, so even though we were an outside company, we were able to proceed with peace of mind.

-- I'd like to hear more details about the division of roles.

HayashiIn principle, people with multiple job functions can create something very creative by discussing and working in parallel. However, if project members are present at every meeting, productivity will decrease. Therefore, development is carried out using a waterfall model with roles divided for each process, but this means that coders, for example, do not have the opportunity to directly hear the client's passion. If you work by receiving instructions from upstream processes as signals, you will not be able to be fully creative in terms of manufacturing.

However, this time we were able to create something while constantly discussing it together with Gram Design. We divided up the roles appropriately, and I felt that we were both properly connected in the direction of increasing both productivity and quality, which I think was great.

--What did you think about what we just said, Mr. Akaike?

Gram Design's Madoka Akaike (right)

Akaike: We were also involved with him and thought, "Mr. Hayashi, you're so good!" He didn't tighten the screws by saying, "Do this," but just let us do what we wanted. When we proposed what we could do, we felt like we could find a place where we could fit in together. When we decided on something, we both felt like we understood the stages that made sense to each other, so it was really easy to work with him.

Hayashi : I have a tendency to be unable to fully demonstrate my abilities unless I become a player to some extent. There is a circuit that opens only when I try to write in the first person, and it doesn't open if I'm only directing. However, in my case, I'm so focused on the parts that determine the outcome that I run out of gas if I try to do everything myself. That being said, there was always a struggle that we couldn't make something good if we divided the roles, and there was a time when I couldn't get into the project. This time, by collaborating with Gram Design, we were able to achieve a very good balance, and Mr. Nagai looked after us properly until the end. I feel like I was able to bridge that gap successfully.

Akaike : Another thing that was really good about this project for me was that when I did the first interview for "Sustainer Travelogue" in Kamikatsu, it really made me think about the attitude and meaning of small and medium-sized business people getting involved in environmental issues. This was in the honest questions from Takatsu and the youthful dialogue from Otsuka of WHY. It was exciting to listen to and I thought it was very meaningful.

In the so-called CSR theme, I often help companies to "appeal their contributions to society," but this was the first time I was involved in a situation like this, where a company's business itself was questioned in light of sustainability. I was able to confirm that, regardless of "what to promote," "what to do" has a greater social impact. I think it was a very satisfying job.

Expressing Takatsu-san's honesty as it is

By the way, why did you decide to ask Monosus to renew your corporate website?

Takatsu: I was in high school with him and knew that he had started a company. Moreover, Manabe-kun and Yamauchi-kun, who were also in my class, were working with him. He must be a good manager to be able to start a company with his friends, and the other employees also had a good atmosphere. I knew he would do a good job. Another reason was that I didn't want to ask a local company to make a safe website, so I asked them to "make a website that is different from other companies."

- How did you respond to Takatsu's request, Hayashi?

I gently declined (laughs). I couldn't leave such a vague project to the other members, so I had no choice but to do it myself. Then, after a while, I was asked again, and I said, "Okay, I'll do it."

Takatsu : When I told him I wanted to do something different from other companies, he listened carefully and gave me various suggestions. Among them, he asked me, "How about posting interviews and columns like the Monosasu site?" When I answered, "No, we're a commercial product, so we don't have anything to write about," he said, "No, no, maybe there is something?" and drew out various ideas.

--Then the themes of environmental issues and SDGs came up.

Monosus' Takahiro Hayashi (left)

Hayashi :In recent years, there has been a trend to change from plastic trays to paper trays out of environmental considerations, so there was talk of "promoting the environmental friendliness of our products."

--So that's why you contacted Gram Design, a company that has been involved in disseminating information on the environmental field.

Akaike : This was our first full-scale collaboration, but I had known about Monosus for a long time. After I asked Coding Factory (CF) to do the work, they sent me CF booklets, and I got the feeling that they were becoming a good company. There was no reason to refuse.

Takatsu Akaike is also very good at listening. When I said negative things like "I'm not interested in the SDGs" and "It's a European strategy", he said "That's interesting. I like that honesty" and accepted my comments and said, "Let's be honest."

Akaike: In fact, EU policies can put Japan at a disadvantage, so as a business owner, I think that's what makes him angry. After listening to Takatsu's story, I confirmed with Hayashi that I thought he was an honest person. So we decided to turn Takatsu's process of learning from his talk with Hayashi into content, which led to the creation of "Sustainability Travelogue."

Hayashi's "Sustainability Travelogue" was planned with the concept that "a man in his 40s who knows nothing goes to be scolded by a girl in her 20s, and then really starts studying based on what he learns." We cannot write that "Takatsu Paper Box is working on the SDGs" when we are not yet at the stage of promoting the SDGs. If we lie on our corporate website, everyone will be unhappy. Employees will not be able to handle the work that arises from a lie, and customers will be unhappy as well.

In Kamikatsu Town, garbage is separated into 13 categories and 45 separate sections. There are no garbage trucks, so garbage is brought to the "Garbage Station" within the Zero Waste Center (food waste is composted at home, etc.).

Anything that can still be used can be taken to the "Kurukuru Shop" (only town residents are allowed) located inside the Zero Waste Center. Anyone can take it home.

I once again thought about the role of a corporate website.

-- You visited Kamikatsu again about a year after the renovation, to hold a workshop with people from paper companies in Shikokuchuo City, where Takatsu Paper Box is based.

Hayashi : Initially, I was planning to visit various regions at a good pace for the "Sustainer Travelogue," but the first visit to Kamikatsu was very intense, so I thought, "It's not often that I can do something at this level." At that time, Mr. Akaike told me, "I think it would be better to get involved with Kamikatsu properly for about a year." The plan changed to, "It would be nice if we could return what we've learned to Kamikatsu," and "It would be nice if we could continue our relationship with Kamikatsu."

Akaike : Last time we came to Kamikatsu, Otsuka said, "I can't get my feelings across to the producers," to which Takatsu replied, "I'll bring the presidents of other companies." It would be really wonderful if this exchange led to something new being done at WHY, or to product development starting at Takatsu's company, the producers themselves. I hope it doesn't end as an interview, but leads to something else.

TakatsuMany people who read that article said, "I want to introduce you to Kamikatsu." However, this time I didn't bring people who wanted to go, but rather members who, like me, have a slightly cynical attitude. The basis of our business is mass production and mass consumption, but that alone is no good. This time was a good opportunity to think things through, and I'm sure everyone will take action. I think I'll be able to report back to Mr. Otsuka about what happened after that.

-- Finally, looking back on this project, I'd like to ask you again what you think the role of a corporate website is.

Takatsu: I myself have never been able to objectively evaluate my company, and I have always wondered, "What are our strengths?" Through this renewal, I was able to rediscover my own company. I meet many managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, and most of them do not put much effort into their corporate websites. Many people say, "We have fixed clients, so we don't need to share information." But I believe that if you share information properly, you will definitely get something in return.

Akaike : I've created many corporate websites, but one thing I always keep in mind is to "not let them wear clothes that don't suit them." However, I wanted to have them wear clothes that they could wear with a little confidence, and I feel that I was able to do that this time. It was a great job.

Takatsu : Those are great words, I'm really touched by them. They seem to apply to my home too.

Hayashi Corporate Site is not something we make, nor something the client wants us to make, but something that is "made". I think it is something that is born as we work together to dig it out. I strongly want to maintain that balance.

Another thing is that a corporate website is a medium that can change with the company. It has the potential to be an engine for growth together with all employees, and also a reflection of the company. That's why we are conscious of creating a corporate website for the people in the company. As Takatsu-san said, there is a reaction to the creation of a corporate website, which increases the motivation of employees and changes their relationship with society. I think it is a medium that has the potential to create such interactions.

-- Thank you very much. I look forward to seeing how the Takatsu Paper Box corporate website continues to develop.