This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL
This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL.
Ace Co., Ltd. Is Celebrating Its 50th Year in Business
Ace Co., Ltd. is celebrating its 50th year in Ota Ward, Tokyo. While metal cutting is their core competency, they leverage a network of over 300 partner companies across Japan to handle everything from plastic component production to sheet metal bending — giving them the ability to respond to a remarkably wide range of client needs. They are a factory that excels at sales, and they play the role of a "trading company" that connects customers to factories nationwide.
"One-stop service from material procurement to finished product" is a claim many companies make — but what sets us apart is that we accomplish this not through in-house or group company capacity, but through trusted partner companies spread across Japan.
I spent time visiting all kinds of factories around the country on foot, and I discovered that Japan has an enormous number of companies with specialized skills we simply can't match. Technology and machinery are necessary for manufacturing, but I genuinely don't believe there's anything that "only Ace can make." Instead, we partner with companies that are technically superior to us, and we come in as their "Tokyo sales office" — bringing in the work. Our partners get to do great work using their strengths. To us, our partner companies are indispensable, bonded by ties of real mutual trust.
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Many Small Factories Have Excellent Technical Skills But Struggle with Sales
Many small factories across Japan have excellent technical skills but struggle with sales — or have no sales function at all. Our strength, by contrast, is exactly that: sales. Through what we call "manufacturing sales" — Ace's own approach — we aim to make cost-effective proposals for our clients and land the best possible work.
"Manufacturing Sales" Only Works Because of Our Partners. Never Lose Sight of Gratitude.
Here's something that might surprise people: I can't operate a single piece of machinery. But give me a drawing, and I can picture the finished three-dimensional product. Because I can picture it, I can make suggestions — "If you changed the material to this, or added this kind of coating, it would hold up much better."
To Make That Kind of Proposal, You Need an Enormous Base of Knowledge and Experience
To make that kind of proposal, you need an enormous base of knowledge and experience. Fortunately, in Ota Ward, we're surrounded by partner companies within easy reach. I've visited them nearly every day — looking with my own eyes at the finished products, delivering them to clients, understanding where in the factory they're actually used. Do that repeatedly, and even without being able to make anything yourself, you reach a state where "I may not be able to make it, but I understand all of it." Applying that breadth of knowledge to give clients the best possible proposals — that's what Ace's "manufacturing sales" is.
Central to this kind of work is the relationship we maintain with our partner companies. Since our business only exists because of them, we've carried on a tradition from the previous generation of treating them as people who are "making things for us" — with genuine gratitude, and with care in every interaction. We don't think of it as "pushing work downstream to subcontractors."
For example, drawings have "hidden pitfalls" — points where "if you're not careful here, you won't be able to make it as drawn." When we hand off work to a partner, we do the legwork of finding those points in advance and attach a note flagging them. We don't just hand things off and walk away. That way, our partners can focus on the manufacturing with peace of mind, and we can deliver high-quality products to our clients.
What Ace Can Do to Keep Japan's Manufacturing Alive
What Ace Can Do to Keep Japan's Manufacturing Alive
Right now, I believe the future of manufacturing comes down to how well you can communicate your value. In an era where advanced machinery anywhere in the world can produce high-quality products, keeping Japan's small-factory manufacturing tradition alive requires the ability to tell that story — and the sales capability to do it.
At the same time, there are many factories across Japan that struggle because they can't sell. The question is how to present the products of these remarkable small factories to major domestic companies and international firms, win work at fair prices, and deliver something genuinely good. That's where I see Ace's value — and it's something I want to keep refining.
I Used to Feel a Real Complex About Not Being Able to Make Things Myself
I used to feel a real complex about not being able to make things myself. But that's not the right way to look at it. My role is to connect the companies that need technical skill with the factories that have it — and to communicate the value of what they make. That's become something I genuinely believe. Both I personally, and every member of the Ace team, will continue to sharpen our "manufacturing sales" approach going forward.
If you're interested in Ace, please feel free to reach out!
This interview article was produced by TIMEWELL, an online professional services firm.
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