Interview with President Suzuki
We interviewed Yasuo Suzuki, president and representative director, about Suzuki Menko’s past and future.
Could you tell us about the “Miyadaiku Policy” listed among your management policies?
Suzuki (honorific omitted)
Around 2005, when I became president, the company was facing the threat of closure due to the excessive expansion and accumulation of contracts that had gone on until then. This policy was introduced to steadily generate profits and keep the company going.
Specifically, like miyadaiku (traditional shrine and temple carpenters), who repair shrines and temples over spans of several decades, I want us to remain “someone customers turn to first” when they need us, even if we do not communicate frequently in the meantime.
We call it the Miyadaiku Policy because we aim to maintain our high level of technical expertise and become a company customers would miss if it were gone.
So you place importance on your relationships with customers.
Suzuki
Just recently, I visited customers in Shikoku and Hyogo Prefecture to offer New Year’s greetings.
I brought along a document compiling “information on the noodle industry across Japan,” prepared based on our company newsletter, and spoke directly with them about industry trends and their concerns.
During busy seasons, customers can be working from early morning until evening, so they are glad to receive firsthand information about the industry.
We have also been receiving more requests from customers who use machinery made by manufacturers that have gone out of business, asking, “Is there any way you can repair it?”
In response to such requests, we take the first step in the spirit of “the ones who remain win; the ones who do it win,” and solve problems other companies cannot handle, building new relationships with customers.
I heard that in recent years you have also made straw-manufacturing equipment, in addition to noodle-making machines.
Suzuki
In 2017, Shibase Industry, a straw manufacturer in Asakuchi City, asked us to make a machine for producing “sleeves (tubes)” to protect medical catheters.
We had never made straw-manufacturing equipment before, so we accepted the request after explaining that “we would take on the challenge, but there was a possibility we might not be able to do it.”
The straw-manufacturing equipment in use at the time was very old, and its manufacturer no longer existed. There were no drawings at all, so we borrowed the machine and began by disassembling it, taking measurements, and creating drawings.
Also, because the equipment was for manufacturing medical devices, it had to meet very high hygiene standards. Our expertise as a manufacturer of food-processing machinery proved useful here.
Six months later, the first machine was completed and delivered. After adjustments and modifications while it was in use, production got up and running smoothly. Since then, thankfully, we have received repeat orders for several machines.
I hear that you have also been working for many years with the nearby National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
Suzuki
Since the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (now the Okayama Branch of the NAOJ Hawaii Observatory) opened in 1960, we have been involved in maintaining the observatory’s infrastructure.
Having supported the observatory from its early days, when it played a central role in astronomical observation in Japan, is a great honor for us as a local company.
Times have changed, and the organization operating the observatory has changed as well, but we hope to continue serving as a supporter, ready to respond even to small problems.
I hear that you personally set the company’s guiding principle every year.
Suzuki
At the end of each year, I create an original “four-character idiom coined from new words” as the company’s guiding principle for the coming year, and announce it to all employees at the start of the new year.
The company’s guiding principle for 2026 is “Nisshin Geppo.”
We have a major project this year, so these four characters express the idea of taking on new challenges and making progress every day, while growing, changing, and developing month by month.
For reference, last year’s (2025) company principle was “Furinkazan,” meaning that even in a rapidly changing global society, we should remain steady and observant, then act swiftly and move forward with vigor when the time is right. As we have more young employees now, we deliberately chose a common four-character idiom rather than coining a new one.
I hear that, as the representative director of the Okayama Prefecture Flour Milling and Noodle Manufacturing Cooperative, you are also involved in improving the production process for hand-stretched noodles.
Suzuki
To address serious challenges such as a shortage of people to carry on hand-stretched noodle-making and the aging of producers, we are working with industry organizations to engage with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, seeking adjustments to production methods to suit the times while preserving tradition.
The production process for hand-stretched noodles is set out in the JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standards), and following every step as prescribed is arduous work that takes from early morning until evening.
In this context, identifying and proposing areas where mechanization and automation can save time and labor is considered an urgent priority for preserving the production region.
Last winter (2025), when I stopped by Kawada Kenichi Noodle Factory, one of the cooperative’s members, I saw someone who had retired from a job at Asakuchi City Hall and was training to become a hand-stretched noodle maker. Seeing people like that makes me feel that, as a cooperative, we want to support them, and at the same time, we need to create systems that make the work easier.
Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
Suzuki
While the average lifespan of a business is said to be 23 to 25 years, we are grateful to have surpassed 100 years and reached our 104th year, and we hope to carry the business forward into the next era.
Two new high school graduates will join us in April 2026. Passing skills from veteran employees to younger ones and renewing the organization are also important. And I believe that manufacturing, not just machinery, is the foundation of everything in Japan.
I hope young people who will shape the future will learn manufacturing know-how at companies that actually make products and grow. I would be happy if more people became interested in pursuing that path, even a little.
From the Writer
This interview was prompted by the writer seeing a disused two-strand kakeba machine being used as a musical instrument in the artwork “Reverberations: Okahachi Waterwheel,” exhibited on Shodoshima at the Setouchi Triennale 2025, held in 2025.
Suzuki Menko’s machines are widely used even on Shodoshima, a long-established production area for hand-stretched somen. However, President Suzuki said that the problems facing production regions, such as a shortage of successors, are common throughout Japan.
A 100-year-old company rooted in Asakuchi, “opening up the future of noodles and noodle-making machines.”
We hope it will continue for many years to come as an unsung hero supporting the delicious food on our tables.
Suzuki Menko Co., Ltd. Information
| Organization name | Suzuki Menko Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Noodle-making machine manufacturing, noodle production |
| Representative | Yasuo Suzuki |
| Year established | 1922 |
| Address | 509-1 Honjo, Kamogata, Asakuchi City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 0865-44-2125 |
| Website | Suzuki Menko Co., Ltd. |
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