Hiroyuki Kawasaki

We are developing pumps and heat source equipment for various industrial markets. When we receive a request from a customer that wants to achieve a particular goal, our job is to come up with a concept and a design, and provide products that will enable them to do that. The key is to keep everything as simple as possible. Assuming there is a product I want to make, I try to think that there is a way to make it as simple as possible and with few functions and processes rather than combining various functions and realizing it comprehensively.

I think it's important to “do it yourself” without leaving it up to others in order to learn skills. When I was young, there were many times where I didn’t understand what was happening when something went wrong, and where I couldn’t think of a solution right away. But if you contemplate things by yourself, there will come a moment that will allow you to overcome the challenge being dealt with. Over time, new issues will come up, and I'll think about them again. As I repeated this, I felt like I was gaining strength before I knew it. I feel like the things I've been worrying and thinking about for myself have stayed longer than what I've been taught.

At Ebara, there are opportunities to be involved in products for various industrial fields, and in the case of development positions, one's own ideas are applied to products. I believe that this is a very appealing environment for young people. That's why I want them to take on the challenge. It might sound cliche to say this, but when you’re young, the challenges you take on, your failures, and the things you have contemplated, all end up becoming assets. I get the feeling that the things which are etched in my memory the most are derived from my experiences with failure and subsequent embarrassment as opposed to experiences where everything went well. I think that it would be beneficial for young people to also have many such experiences. I've also been working in the development and design field ever since I joined the company, so I would like to continue working on challenging goals in the future.