共に悩み、共に挑む。 ひとつのチームとなり築いた 歴史と未来をつなぐショールーム

On July 1, 2025, a new manufacturing base was established in Ozaso, Fukushima City.
This is the symbolic "Ozaso Plant," which started its journey in 2024 when Medtec Co., Ltd. (Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture) and Shirakawa Nitto Kohki Co., Ltd. (Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture) merged to form Tohoku Nitto Kohki Co., Ltd. Medtec manufactured machine tools and annular cutters, while Shirakawa Nitto Kohki manufactured door closers and electric screwdrivers. The plant, which brings together the technological capabilities and production know-how cultivated by both companies and consolidates their functions, stands out remarkably in the nature-rich area of Ozaso.
"Due to its location right next to the Osasazu Interchange and adjacent to the roadside station, it easily catches people's eyes, increasing opportunities for them to take an interest in the factory. Given that, we thought we should make it a 'showcase factory' not just on the outside, but on the inside as well," says Plant Manager Tetsuya Kuwahara. "Since our company mainly makes products for businesses, the general public often does not know what kind of company we are. We decided to create internal exhibits and a tour course so that more people can learn about what kind of history we have, what kind of products we make, and what kind of people work here."
NOMURA MEDIAS was in charge of the design and planning. Mr. Kuwabara stated, "NOMURA MEDIAS' proposal in the presentation was excellent, and the exhibitions they had handled for other companies were also impressive, so we decided we definitely wanted to ask them." The project began with the request to make the showroom easy to understand, focusing on how to best represent the company, Tohoku Nitto Koki.
To address this, NOMURA MEDIAS proposed allowing visitors to experience the company's appeal by setting up three corners: "Learn," "Touch," and "See."
Visitors first learn about the history from the founding of the predecessor company to the establishment of the Ohzoso plant and representative products through the exhibits in the "Know" corner. Next, they touch actual products in the "Touch" corner and experience their appeal firsthand. Then, in the "See" corner, backed by the knowledge and experience accumulated in the "Know" and "Touch" sections, they tour the manufacturing site where employees actually work. Given that many of the products are unfamiliar to the general public, incorporating this sequence resulted in a story-driven structure that allows people of all positions and generations to deepen their understanding and enjoy the experience.

In designing each corner, NOMURA MEDIAS and on-site employees held numerous meetings, engaging in trial and error to figure out how to create an easy-to-understand showroom.
In the "Know" corner, a chronology detailing the history of two companies with different roots, Medtech and Shirakawa Nitto Kohki, merging to become one in the new factory is displayed as "The Journey of Tohoku Nitto Kohki." Within the timeline, actual machines of products that can be called "legends" representing each era are exhibited. For example, visitors can trace the evolutionary process of the "Attra Ace®" drilling machine, one of the flagship products, from a large machine to a compact model, and then to a battery-powered cordless type, allowing them to also enjoy the history of the products.
To decide the content and exhibits for this timeline, Ohashi and Nishikori traveled to various places and held repeated meetings with Tohoku Nitto Kohki. In particular, the task of finding photos and products from that time was difficult. "We had to repeatedly visit bases scattered across Yamagata, Shirakawa, and Tokyo, select items to include in the timeline from a large amount of materials and products, and put them together," Ohashi recalls of the hardships. Nishikori also looks back on that time, saying, "It felt like a treasure hunt or an excavation work for a story."
In the "touch" corner, not only clarity and fun, but also safety was pursued.
"We want to invite local elementary and junior high school students to the factory so they can actually touch and experience the products. That is why I asked that safety be our top priority and that everything be done to prevent injuries," says Mr. Kuwahara.
For example, in the hands-on exhibit of the "Jet Chisel®", which can peel off paint and the like with compressed air, the design was devised to reduce the vibration during use by weakening the machine's power more than usual, use acrylic cases to prevent touching the operating needles, and ensure that operations can be stopped immediately in an emergency. "It was difficult to adjust it so that safety was enhanced while thoroughly enjoying the product characteristics," says Ohashi.
In addition, the electric screwdriver 'Delvo®', one of the flagship products, is used in the assembly of electronic devices and automobiles, featuring characteristics such as stopping precisely when screw tightening is completed with minimal impact upon stopping. To allow visitors to experience these features, an exhibit was set up where six screws are placed, enabling a 'screw-tightening competition' between the Delvo and a manual screwdriver. The 'Balance Ace®', which suspends the Delvo, is actually used in the factory as well, but considerations for safety were made by adjusting its placement so it does not collide with visitors' heads. This 'screw-tightening competition' was originally conceived with children in mind, but adult visitors are actually enjoying it as well.
The "Watching" corner, which serves as the factory tour course, has glass walls offering a panoramic view of the facilities. However, due to the spacious factory floor, individual products and the workers' hands are difficult to see. To address this, panels and videos explaining the technology and detailed equipment were produced and displayed along the walkthrough.
This was also a specific commitment on the part of Tohoku Nitto Kohki. Mr. Kuwahara stated, "We asked for easy-to-understand explanations so that even students could comprehend them. We want them to know about technology that we can be proud of to the world. However, since there are some processes that fall under 'know-how' which cannot be made public, we had them omit explanations of those processes upon our request, while still organizing the exhibits so that the technology is conveyed thoroughly." He noted that extreme care was also taken in choosing the words for the exhibits. "We carefully considered the content, being very particular about each and every word, such as whether a certain expression should be 'polishing' or 'grinding'..."