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Working with Colleagues from Different Cultures Gives Me Irreplaceable MotivationKyo Shimizu
Marketing Section B
Numerical Controller Business Development Dept.
Industrial Automation Marketing Div.
Joined Mitsubishi Electric in 2022
2026-07
This article features an interview with Kyo Shimizu, who is responsible for supporting the expansion of computerized numerical controller (CNC) sales and serves as a liaison with the manufacturing team at Mitsubishi Electric Taiwan Co., Ltd. (ME-TWN).
Trust Is Essential When People Work Together
── How did you come to join Mitsubishi Electric?
Shimizu:I lived in Taiwan from the age of 11 to 15 because of my father’s job. My family and I often visited a department store in Taipei, whose main plaza featured Mitsubishi Electric’s spiral escalators as a landmark. Seeing a Japanese company supporting people’s daily lives overseas made me proud to be Japanese. Later, when I joined Mitsubishi Electric’s summer internship program while I was at university, I realized that Mitsubishi Electric was contributing not only to people in Taiwan but also to people around the world, and that made my desire to work for them very clear. Another reason I chose Mitsubishi Electric was the good impression the job interviewers left on me. Their warm attitude further strengthened my desire to join the company.
── Could you tell us about your current responsibilities and mission?
Shimizu:After joining the company, I was assigned to a domestic sales position at the head office, and then was transferred to my current post in April 2025. I am now in charge of supporting the expansion of CNC sales at ME-TWN. My tasks include back-end support, such as providing local staff with materials related to products and services. I also travel to Taiwan once a month and stay there for about a week to support sales activities on-site. During these trips, I visit customers together with local ME-TWN members. Customers are delighted when someone from the head office visits them, and I believe these on-site visits are important for building and strengthening relationships. In addition to business meetings in conference rooms, I also value sharing meals and drinks with customers and the ME-TWN staff, as these occasions help us build closer relationships. When people work together, trust is essential. I hope to continue this kind of direct, person-to-person communication.
── What do you keep in mind when taking on those responsibilities?
Shimizu:I would say it is “always thinking from the other person’s perspective.” Demand for CNCs is growing worldwide, including in China, and we strive to meet our customers’ requests as much as possible. At the same time, there are also occasions when customers consult us on delivery schedules. In such situations, it is important to build relationships with members of the Industrial Mechatronics Systems Works so that they will be willing to go the extra mile for Taiwan. It is equally important to help ME-TWN understand the situations on the manufacturing side. As someone who serves as a bridge between the two, I am fully aware that this kind of coordination is also an important part of my role.
Hoping Japan's Monozukuri Will Once Again Be the Best in the World
── What do you find most rewarding about your current work?
Shimizu:When I was living in Taiwan, I felt a great sense of accomplishment in working with people whose cultures and backgrounds differed from mine to achieve something. That experience remains a fond memory for me even today. I feel that same sense of fulfillment now through my teamwork with ME-TWN, and it has become an irreplaceable source of motivation. I also find it rewarding to be in an environment where I can make use of the language skills I relearned—even taking a leave of absence from university to do so. Above all, there is a special sense of joy when local sales and the team’s efforts are reflected in the numbers.
── How do you hope to contribute to people and society through monozukuri?
Shimizu:The CNCs I handle are essential to automating manufacturing, and I believe they make a meaningful contribution to society. This is because the machine tools in which CNCs are integrated are often referred to as “mother machines,” since they produce the components that form the basis of all industrial products. People may not often have the opportunity to see CNCs or machine tools directly in their everyday lives. Nevertheless, the products we use every day are, in many ways, made possible by this technology. When I think about that, I feel a real sense of excitement, and it inspires me to work even harder toward better monozukuri.
── Finally, what is your vision for the future of monozukuri?
Shimizu:The various “things” that surround us in our daily lives have the power to make life better. Mitsubishi Electric’s spiral escalators, which only our company can manufacture, enrich the lives of people in Taiwan. In my own case, they inspired me to join the company, and through that experience I came to realize just how deeply the things we create can influence a person’s life. I hope that Japanese monozukuri will once again lead the world. Some may say that it no longer has the same momentum it once did, but the Japanese approach of responding to customers with care and providing thorough after-sales support continues to be highly valued overseas. I would like to keep this sincere attitude in mind and do what I can to help Japan once again be seen as a world leader in monozukuri.
*This article is based on interviews conducted in July 2026.
