As a group of companies, SEKISUI in Europe provides a vast array of innovative products and services, engages around 1,000 diverse employees and combines the strength of various great companies. One of these companies is SEKISUI Alveo – with its CEO Eiji Tateo. We met him for a personal interview to talk about the daily business as well as the cooperation amongst SEKISUI companies in Europe.
Read the whole interview and some more information on SEKISUI Alveo here:
Could you please introduce yourself and tell us about your career at SEKISUI so far?
My name is Eiji Tateo and I am the CEO of SEKISUI Alveo. When I joined SEKISUI, I started in a Foam R&D position in the Musashi plant in Japan – working several years in the USA later on. At the beginning of 2018, I was transferred to Roermond to take over the role as CEO.
What is your role as CEO at SEKISUI Alveo?
I am living in Dusseldorf and come to work at the SEKISUI Alveo plant in Roermond every day. I usually start my day by checking the daily sales figures and the plant management index such as yield, production tonnage. I would say that I spend 40% of my time in meetings, 30% for future strategy thinking, 20% for problem solving and 10 % for walking in our plant. On top, I usually travel twice a month – to visit our Headquarters located in Switzerland or one of our plants or sales offices in Germany or Japan.
You are working at SEKISUI Alveo. What is the company doing?
We make plastic foam cushion material. There are various types of application in different markets such as Automotive, Tape and Healthcare, Construction, Industrial and Consumer Goods.
Some applications you might know in are automotive instrumental panel and door cushion material, foam for double sided tape and the ECG pad for medical applications.
What benefits do you offer to your customers?
We offer sustainable and customized foam solutions to our customer. Depending on the customer request, our foam has a variety of features such as shock absorption, thermal insulation, acoustics and light weight.
With a very strong team we are continuously aiming at improving production efficiency and offer our customers a reliable service.
If you had one wish regarding your business, what would it be?
I would like to have all employees to have joy and pride in his/her work. On top, I hope that our customers can feel this and see us as No1 foam solution provider – which results in a good reputation in the market.
What is great about working for SEKISUI Alveo?
We are a global leader in the Polymer Foam Market and working at Alveo is not only about an exciting job but also about a great team. We have sister companies all over the world and work together as one global team.
How do you think the different SEKISUI companies in Europe could work together?
I think that we should use synergies by sharing knowledge and experience. We started safety meeting with SEKISUI S-Lec in order to learn from each other – these kinds of exchange are very valuable and we should do more. In my opinion, we can use the expertise of all companies to build a strong SEKISUI brand in Europe.
What was the best advice someone ever gave to you?
I have always been a challenger in my career and developed many new products in new markets. Once, I made a big mistake and had a large customer complaint. My manager came to me and said:
I would have made the same mistake. Do not worry and let’s do our best to solve it. He did not blame me and I was very much encouraged by this.
What did you always want to say to your team?
Let’s aim high targets and try our best all together. It is not only about achieving the targets but also about taking ownership and team work. As long as we are working as one team and taking challenges, we can be better than anyone.
With recognised expertise and strong capabilities in application design and testing, SEKISUI Alveo develops, manufactures, and distributes high-quality polyolefin foams. A broad spectrum of high-quality roll and block foam offers the ideal material for every converting process. The products stand out due to their superior technical performance and easy converting properties.
SEKISUI Alveo products are used in the manufacture of consumer and industrial goods as well as industries such as adhesive coating, flooring, transportation, automotive, packaging, footwear and health.
As Europe’s leading manufacturer and innovation driver in the field of foam technology, SEKISUI Alveo focus on customers’ needs for quality, comprehensive services, and gaining an edge in development. Thanks to its broad and diverse product range, the company can also meet highly specific application requirements. Through a close collaboration, customers benefit from a good relationship and individual solutions.
Headquartered in Lucerne, Switzerland with sales and manufacturing sites throughout Europe, SEKISUI Alveo now has over 500 employees who work to provide the excellent quality, service and innovative solutions to customers.
