After working for NASA developing energy-saving technologies for space travel, Osamu Tsuji found Japan rather dull when he returned in 1978. "There was no interesting work, so I needed a challenge." And so challenge himself he did. With no lab, no office, no funds and no business plan to speak of, he sat down in his garage with a single solar technology project request from an electronics company and started SAMCO International (Semiconductor And Materials Company).

The humble beginnings of SAMCO International gave no portent of the global enterprise that it would become. Focusing on thin-film and surface technology for anything from semiconductor chip fabrication, flat-panel displays, and fuel cells to super conductors, Tsuji's personal "challenge" is now a dominant player in a very competitive market. In addition to its own research centers in Silicon Valley, Tsukuba and Kyoto, SAMCO International has joint R&D projects with major international corporations as well as the universities of Kyoto, Tokyo and Cambridge.

Walking around the headquarters and labs in south Kyoto, one can see how that philosophy affects Mr. Tsuji's management style. He interacts with each member of his 100-person company as if they were in the close, comfortable confines of his garage. He remembers every employee's birthday and makes a point of serving as a sounding board for their ideas. "The top of the company must serve as a direct mentor to his employees," he says. "Sending people to outside training seminars evades my responsibility as a leader, which in the end, inhibits the company's growth." In fact, Mr. Tsuji's business philosophy reflects a simple and personal approach: as our people grow, the company grows. 

In fact, Mr. Tsuji learned how invaluable human relationships can be from his own rocky beginning. During the early garage days, the company did not have its own lab facilities. However, some close college friends arranged for Mr. Tsuji to use the university's facilities at no charge an event that would become the turning point for his business. It was these close relationships with colleagues and universities that were a saving grace, which allowed SAMCO International to get off the ground initially .

SAMCO still utilizes its close ties with universities to leverage greater human resources and intellectual capital. The company has many ongoing joint R&D activities, including six joint R&D agreements with U.S. corporations and four with U.K. and Japanese universities. This strategic networking allows a company of 33 engineers to do the work of 200 engineers while maintaining high standards.

Mr. Tsuji plans on building further upon the human resource and university network platform he has so carefully nurtured in order to move the company in new directions. He is looking into fields such as fuel and solar cells, as well as materials for next generation devices such as diamond thin-film super conductors. A recent project the company has undertaken is in recycling PET bottles. SAMCO's patented coating technology enables PET bottle recycling costs to be cut in half. A few Japanese companies have already licensed this technology and negotiations with other multinationals are under way. 

SAMCO's wide range of activities is still deeply rooted in the company's material business, and Kyoto remains the focal point for its enterprises. According to Mr.  Tsuji, the independent mind is normal in Kyoto, whereas compatibility is prized in Tokyo. We [at SAMCO] want to build innovation upon tradition, and develop while preserving; that is Kyoto-style. He also enjoys the competitive atmosphere around the company's headquarters in south Kyoto, where major international corporations like Kyocera and Murata are based. Mr. Tsuji says that having rivals nearby breeds healthy competition and leads to record-breaking discoveries. Again, everything boils down to the garage-scale perspective: "Our company and Kyoto companies may not be big like the sumo wrestler Konnishiki, but we are nimble and innovative."

Author: Michael Robbins
This article was published with permission. All rights reserved. Kyoto Research Park Corporation.