As to managerial organization, under the President there are the vice-president and the division managers who occupy senior administrative positions.
Internally, I instruct division heads to be aware of internal departmental controls. In addition, we have department heads deal with cross-divisional negotiations among themselves to ensure vibrant organizational management.
We always put safety first, and the joy of working with zero occupational accidents is of utmost importance to us.
We have also established a system regarding internal reporting and operate with compliance in mind.

Organization changes

Regarding the organizational changes on April 1, 2024, we established a new position of Chief Safety Supervisor as the person responsible for safety, in order to meet the increasing demands for safe production within China.
In the organizational changes on August 1, 2024, we placed the Equipment Department directly under the General Manager to increase its independence, thereby enabling the rapid implementation of equipment improvements and safety measures.

We undertake to manage our human resources in accordance with the company’s employment regulations which stipulate that no one is subject to acts of gender discrimination, child labor or forced labor, etc. due to employment.

Revision of the salary system and the introduction of an evaluative system

In terms of recruitment, we are not limited to the immediate vicinity of the company but are actively seeking personnel across the broader Linqu County area. In the second half of 2018, we significantly revised our salary system (base salary, position allowance, qualification/skill allowance), which eliminated regional disparities. Currently, we are the only Japanese-affiliated company in the region, and our employee benefits are highly comprehensive. We will continue to upgrade our evaluation system with features unique to Japanese companies, aiming to further enhance employee motivation.

In 2024, we strengthened our efforts to improve the safety of our production equipment and implemented improvements to eliminate areas with disaster risk levels V and IV (high risk). We will continue our efforts to further reduce disaster risks in the future.

YOKOHAMA Forever Forest Activities

Due to the COVID-19 disaster in 2020 and beyond, we were unable to implement the Forever Forest activity due to requests from the local government for self-restraint and other reasons.
In 2022, we participated in tree planting activities by the local government and donated funds to purchase seedlings.

Employment of people with disabilities

The company employs a disabled person who is assigned to the human resources and general affairs division.

Measures implemented in the workplace

Visitor management using biometric "face recognition"

A security gate was installed in August 2019 in order to advance the management of attendance and visitor accessibility. Automatic authentication is performed based on the information registered in the database at the time of passage (attendance management, fraud prevention). Visitors can enter the building after presenting their ID to the guard and registering their data.

Creating an employee-friendly working environment

We are working to enhance employee satisfaction by providing a full range of benefits, including wedding and maternity gifts, condolence money, and maternity leave programs, as well as a reward system for outstanding employees and gifts for the anniversary of the company's founding and for traditional Chinese holidays.

Promotion of gender equality

Female employees at the company account for about 11% of the entire workforce. Meanwhile, we also have four female employees in management positions, who account for about 12% of all managers. There is no discrepancy between the genders when it comes to promotion.
For new hires as well, when assigning them, we take into consideration both their wishes and their skill sets.

Communication

We conduct a day trip for employees to a local tourist destination once a year. We held a mini-sports day at the location to promote communication and teamwork among employees.

Disaster response

Environmental management

We are committed to maintaining and improving our ISO 14001 environmental management system, striving to adhere to Yokohama Rubber's environmental policy. Regarding VOCs emission control, as guided by the Environmental Bureau, we underwent inspections by a third-party organization and met domestic emission standards. However, in 2019, we experienced administrative guidance due to equipment management issues. Learning from this, we reviewed our Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for equipment management, implemented equipment management training, and invested in a more reliable VOCs system from a reputable manufacturer in FY2019 to prevent recurrence. Due to regulatory changes prohibiting photocatalytic VOCs treatment, we transitioned to an activated carbon system in December 2022. We also conduct monthly self-inspections for trend analysis to proactively manage activated carbon replacement before exceeding emission limits. With increasingly stringent environmental regulations in China, we will continue to strategically invest in environmental initiatives this fiscal year.

Environmental data

• FY: January to December
• Greenhouse gas emissions at overseas business sites are calculated based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative.

Corruption prevention

In order to prevent fraudulent activities, the company's purchasing department has a system in which no competitive bidding, tendering, or ordering can be processed without the confirmatory signature of the president.

Compliance

A Chinese language Code of Conduct has been prepared based upon Yokohama Rubber’s own Code of Conduct, and education was conducted among all employees upon their receipt of a YRSC version of the compliance card. Additionally, the consultative point-of-contact (via email and telephone, etc.) for compliance-related matters has been clarified, and we now respond to requests for consultations, etc., as is required.

Communication with users

An after-sales service division has been established to help heighten customer satisfaction. By engineer visits, and by regularly dispatching service staff to customer conveyor belt installations for servicing, we get close to customers and listen to them so that we can enhance customer satisfaction levels.

Relationship with local societies

In 2024, we invited numerous manufacturing companies within Linqu County and presented case studies on:
(1) the implementation of AI camera-based pedestrian detection systems in the rear operating area of forklifts, and (2) interlock control systems that restrict welding equipment usage to qualified personnel only.